Who is Ranya Rao? The actress caught for smuggling 14.8 kg gold at Bengaluru airport

The 31-year-old was taken into custody by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) upon her arrival from Dubai.

Kannada actress Ranya Rao has landed in controversy after being arrested at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru for allegedly smuggling 14.8 kg of gold.

Following her arrest on Monday night, she was presented before an economic offences court.(Facebook/Ranya Rao)

The 31-year-old was taken into custody by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) upon her arrival from Dubai.

Who is Ranya Rao?

Hailing from Chikmagalur, Karnataka, Ranya, pursued engineering at Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering in Bengaluru before venturing into the film industry, Times of India reported.

Ranya made her film debut in 2014 with the Kannada movie Maanikya, directed by and starring Sudeep. She played Manasa, a wealthy young woman and the protagonist’s love interest.

Expanding her career beyond Kannada cinema, Ranya made her Tamil debut in 2016 with Wagah, where she starred opposite Vikram Prabhu in a romantic drama. The following year, she returned to Kannada films with Pataki, a comedy where she portrayed Sangeetha, a journalist and the love interest of actor Ganesh’s character.

Following her arrest on Monday night, she was presented before an economic offences court, which remanded her to 14 days in judicial custody, they added.

According to officials, Rao had arrived from Dubai on an Emirates flight and had been under surveillance due to her frequent international travel. Investigators revealed that she had allegedly smuggled the gold by wearing a significant portion of it and concealing gold bars in her clothing.

Authorities grew suspicious after noticing that she had travelled to Dubai four times in 15 days, prompting a targeted operation upon her return. Preliminary investigations suggest that the actress may have attempted to use her connections to bypass customs checks.

Reports indicate that upon landing, she allegedly claimed to be the daughter of Karnataka’s Director General of Police and contacted local police personnel to escort her home.

Officials are now probing whether any law enforcement officers, including her IPS relative, were aware of her activities or were misled into assisting her. After her arrest, Rao was taken to the DRI headquarters in Bengaluru’s HBR Layout for questioning.

Authorities are investigating whether she was acting alone or was part of a larger smuggling network operating between Dubai and India.

(With PTI inputs)