How actor Ranya Rao avoided security checks before her arrest in gold smuggling case and who enabled it

A senior constable disclosed that Ranya had contacted him on the day of her arrest, requesting VIP protocol for her arrival.

In a fresh turn of events, a police officer at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport has revealed that actor Ranya Rao was granted VIP protocol on multiple occasions at the behest of her stepfather, senior IPS officer DGP K Ramachandra Rao, reported Deccan Herald.

Kannada actress Ranya Rao was arrested over alleged gold smuggling on Monday night while returning from Dubai (YouTube/ Anand Audio)

The revelation comes days after Ranya was arrested on March 3 for allegedly smuggling gold worth ₹12.56 crore.

Investigators probing the case found that the actor had been making frequent trips to Dubai, which caught the attention of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI).

The agency had been monitoring her movements for some time and suspected her of using a well-known smuggling pattern. On her latest return from Dubai, authorities intercepted her at the airport and seized 12 gold bars of foreign origin from her possession.

According to the report, a head constable stationed at the airport, Basappa Billur alias Basavaraj, told DRI officials in his statement that he had personally assisted Ranya in bypassing regular security checks.

He claimed that he had been instructed on multiple occasions to facilitate the movement of family members of high-ranking police officials. Specifically, he admitted to receiving direct orders from DGP Ramachandra Rao to ensure smooth passage for his relatives, including Ranya, the report further added.

Basavaraj further disclosed that Ranya had contacted him on the day of her arrest, requesting VIP protocol for her arrival at around 6.20 pm. Following her request, he met her upon deplaning and accompanied her through the airport’s Green Channel, a passage typically reserved for passengers with nothing to declare. He stated that he had extended similar privileges to her three or four times before, though he could not recall the exact dates.

ED raids in Bengaluru

On Thursday, the Enforcement Directorate raided multiple locations in Bengaluru and some other places as part of a money laundering probe linked to probe "larger conspiracy" into an alleged gold smuggling racket.

The probe aims to look at the larger conspiracy of gold smuggling through airports and the generation of proceeds of crime by various people, including influential persons, government officials and "politically exposed persons", they said.

(With agency inputs)