Gold smuggling: Kannada actor Ranya Rao arrested at Bengaluru airport

Bengaluru: The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials have arrested Kannada film actor Ranya Rao after seizing 14.8 kg of gold from her at the Bengaluru International Airport, sources said on Tuesday. 

The ‘Wagah’ actor was taken into custody on Monday night at the airport after her arrival on an Emirates flight from Dubai, a police official told IANS. 

The officers from the DRI had been monitoring the movements of Rao following her frequent trips to Dubai. The actress is a close relative of a serving IPS officer in Karnataka, police said.

Police revealed that Ranya wore most of the gold without giving any room for suspicion. She also smuggled gold bars hidden in clothes. After reaching the airport, she would claim that she is the daughter of the DGP and as soon as she came out, she would call the police personnel for pick up.

The DRI sleuths are verifying whether the police personnel and the IPS officer have any role in the whole episode or the accused misused them. The authorities are also verifying whether she had smuggled gold earlier as well.

Sources revealed that the DRI was alerted and gathered information on the female actor after she had visited Dubai four times in the last 15 days and returned to Bengaluru. A team of four officers from the DRI  came down to Bengaluru airport and waited for her arrival after receiving a tip-off on her boarding from Dubai.

The officers took Ranya to the DRI Headquarters in the HBR locality of Bengaluru and questioned her after seizing gold and recording her arrest. Sources stated that she would be produced before a Bengaluru court later on Tuesday.

Ranya Rao has acted as a lead actress against Kannada superstar Sudeep in "Maanikya". She has also acted in Vikram Prabhu starrer Tamil movie ‘Wagah’. More details regarding the case are yet to emerge.