Actor Ranya Rao purchased gold in Dubai twice in November and December 2024, and declared to the customs department there that she would be travelling to Switzerland’s Geneva, but her travel history showed that she landed in India instead, according to the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI).

The agency is investigating Rao for alleged gold smuggling after she was detained at Bengaluru airport on the evening of March 3.

Following her arrest, the Bengaluru Directorate of Revenue Intelligence recovered gold jewellery worth Rs 2.06 crore and Rs 2.67 crore in cash from her home in the tech city during raids. On Monday, a court remanded Rao to 14-day judicial custody until March 24.

In her arrest memo, accessed by CNN-News18, DRI said Rao had purchased gold in Dubai on November 13 and December 20, and declared that she was headed for Geneva. But she arrived in India, according to the arrest memo.

Rao has admitted that before her arrest, she brought gold from Dubai to India on at least two earlier occasions. DRI officials believe that she evaded customs duty worth around Rs 4.83 crore

Last week, CNN-News18 learnt that, in her first statement to DRI, Rao admitted that 17 gold bars were recovered from her possession. She also revealed that she travelled not only to Dubai but also to Europe, America and the Middle East.

However, she refused to share any further details and asked the authorities to allow her to rest

Rao, the stepdaughter of Director General of Police (Karnataka State Police Housing Corporation) Ramachandra Rao, was under the radar of authorities due to frequent travel to Dubai.

She allegedly travelled to the city 30 times over the past year, and four times in 15 days, bringing back kilos of gold each time.

The case is touted as one of the biggest gold seizures in Karnataka. Police have alleged that he frequently travelled with the actress to Dubai, from where she allegedly smuggled gold.

The Karnataka government appointed senior IAS officer Gaurav Gupta to investigate the protocol violations by actor Ranya Rao and also the possible role of her stepfather K. Ramachandra Rao, Director-General of Police, Karnataka State Police Housing Corporation, in the case.

In a separate order, the government directed the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to probe the possible negligence and submit a report.

It is also being probed if Ranya Rao used the airport protocol facilities provided to senior police officials, by using the name of her father and allegedly used these privileges to bypass security checks at the airport.

“It has been reported by the media that Ranya Rao was apprehended by officials of the DRI while illegally smuggling gold bars from Dubai to Bengaluru.

During the investigation, it has been reported that Ms. Ranya Rao misused protocol privileges to carry out this illegal activity," the government order stated.

“The government considers it necessary to investigate the circumstances and factors that led to the misuse of protocol privileges, as well as the involvement of Dr. Ramachandra Rao in this case," the order added.

Source:news18