Kannada actress Ranya Rao was arrested by the Bangalore authorities on Monday night after it was uncovered that she was involved in a gold smuggling racket. Rao, who flew into Bangalore from Dubai via an Emirates flight, was flagged, detained, and questioned by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) at the Kempegowda International Airport, following a tip-off their received.
The actress had come under the DRI’s radar due to her frequent trips to Dubai – four times in the past 15 days. Upon thorough inspection, the authorities discovered 14.2 kg of gold on her person, who also managed to conceal gold bars in her clothing. The seized gold was valued at a whopping Rs 12.56 crore.
Subsequently, the DRI officials carried out a search at her apartment located on Lavelle Road in Bangalore. The search uncovered gold jewellery worth Rs 2.06 crore and Indian currency amounting to Rs 2.67 crore. As a result of the major bust, Rao was arrested under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962, and has been remanded to judicial custody for 14 days.
Who is Ranya Rao?
Born in 1991, Ranya Rao hails from the Chikmagalur district of Karnataka. According to various reports, the 33-year-old is the daughter of DGP-rank IPS officer K Ramachandra Rao.
Rao made her debut in the film industry in 2014 with Kannada film Maanikya, helmed by Sudeep, starring alongside Ravichandran, Varalaxmi Sharathkumar, and P. Ravi Shankar. She later went on to star in the Tamil film Wagah (2016), starring Vikram Prabhu and Pataki (2017) with actor Ganesh.