Ranya Rao had wrapped gold bars around her waist, calves, hid them in shoes

In a shocking development, it has been revealed that Kannada actress Ranya Rao, who was recently arrested for smuggling gold into India, had wrapped the gold bars around her waist and calves with bandages and tissues. She hid the additional gold bars and cut pieces in her shoes and front pockets.

The actress was arrested at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport on March 03 for allegedly attempting to smuggle 14.2 kg of 24-karat gold bars, worth over Rs 12.56 crore, from Dubai. The 31-year-old actress was arrested by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) following a tip-off. The arrest occurred while she was flying back from Dubai on an Emirates EK 566 flight.

Ranya Rao did not declare anything, was crossing through green channel

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence’s arrest memo has disclosed shocking details of the evidence against Kannada actor Ranya Rao in the gold smuggling case. As per the arrest memo, Ranya did not declare anything and was crossing through the green channel when the metal detector flagged something. The actress also failed to provide proof of purchase or declaration for the recovered gold.

The arrest memo mentions, “Attempting to pass through the Green Channel, she denied carrying any dutiable goods, gold, or contraband. However, a metal detector alerted officers to the presence of concealed items on her person.”

A green channel at an airport is a customs lane for the passengers who do not have any dutiable or prohibited goods to declare.

While the actress did not make a baggage declaration with the Indian Customs, the metal detector door indicated presence of a metal. After this, her hand baggage and trolley were scanned but nothing was found. After conducting a body check up of the actress, it was found that gold bars were fastened to her waist and calf muscles using crepe bandage and tissues, while some bars and cut pieces were hidden in her shoes and pockets of her pants.

DRI raids Ranya Rao’s Bengaluru residence

Following her arrest, DRI officers conducted a search at her residence on Lavelle Road in Bengaluru in the presence of her husband Jatin Hukkeri. Cash worth Rs 2.67 crore, additional jewellery worth Rs 2.06 crore and some incriminating documents were seized after the raid.
Additionally, records from Dubai Customs (dated November 13, 2024, and December 20, 2024) have revealed that Ranya had previously purchased gold in Dubai, declared it for travel to Geneva, but instead diverted her journey to India.

The actress has failed to explain the source of the seized cash and jewellery, raising doubts about her involvement in a larger smuggling network.