Kannada actress Ranya Rao was arrested at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru on charges of smuggling 14.8 kg of gold. The 31-year-old was detained by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) when she arrived from Dubai. She had been monitored because she made frequent visits abroad.
Ranya Rao, born in Chikmagalur, Karnataka, pursued engineering at Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering in Bengaluru before going on to the film industry. She first appeared on screen in 2014 playing the character Manasa, the rich love interest, in the Kannada movie Maanikya. She furthered her career in Tamil films in 2016 in Wagah and then came back to Kannada with Pataki in 2017.
When she returned to Bengaluru on an Emirates flight, officials suspected her after observing that she kept going to Dubai frequently. Inquiries showed that Rao had apparently smuggled the gold by covering a major portion of it on her body and hiding gold bars in her garments. Officials suspected her because of her four journeys to Dubai in 15 days, leading to a targeted operation. She also allegedly tried using her influence, posing as Karnataka’s Director General of Police’s daughter, and sought assistance from local policemen to leave smoothly.
Rao was subsequently produced in front of an economic offences court after having been arrested and remanded into 14 days of judicial custody. Officials are now investigating if she had been operating on her own or as part of a larger smuggling syndicate, with suspicion centered around any law enforcement official involvement, including her supposed relative within the IPS.