Who is Ranya Rao? The Kannada Actress Arrested For Smuggling 14.8 kg Gold
Kannada actress Ranya Rao has found herself embroiled in legal trouble after being arrested at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru for smuggling gold.
Kannada actress Ranya Rao has found herself embroiled in legal trouble after being arrested at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru. Authorities apprehended her for allegedly attempting to smuggle 14.8 kg of gold into India. The 31-year-old actress was taken into custody by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) upon her arrival from Dubai. She was under surveillance due to her frequent international travels.
Who is Ranya Rao?
Born in Chikmagalur, Karnataka, Ranya initially pursued an engineering degree at Bengaluru’s Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering before transitioning into the film industry. She made her acting debut in 2014 with the Kannada film ‘Maanikya’, where she played the love interest of Sudeep’s character. The film, a remake of the 2013 Telugu hit ‘Mirchi’, featured Ranya as Manasa, a young woman from a powerful family who falls in love with the protagonist.
Ranya later expanded her career to Tamil cinema with ‘Wagah’ in 2016, starring alongside Vikram Prabhu in a romantic drama. The film followed an Indian soldier who, amidst escalating unrest in Kashmir, takes it upon himself to ensure the safe return of his Pakistani lover to her homeland.
She returned to Kannada films in 2017 with ‘Pataki,’ a comedy where she portrayed a journalist opposite Ganesh.
As per her Facebook bio, she describes herself as a “seeker, traveller, star gazer, and a sunset lover.”
How she was caught
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence arrested Ranya Rao at Bengaluru International Airport after she was found carrying 14.8 kg of gold. The authorities discovered that Ranya had concealed the gold in a specially designed belt worn around her body, along with 800 grams of gold jewellery hidden in her clothing, as per a report on PTI. Authorities became suspicious due to her pattern of frequent travel—having visited Dubai four times in just 15 days—which led them to closely monitor her movements.
Reports suggest that after landing, she allegedly claimed to be the daughter of Karnataka’s Director General of Police and even contacted local law enforcement to escort her home, in what officials believe was an attempt to bypass customs scrutiny.
Larger investigation underway
Authorities are now investigating whether she had any assistance from law enforcement officers, including her IPS relative, or if she misled them into unknowingly helping her. Following her arrest, she was taken to the DRI headquarters in Bengaluru’s HBR Layout for further questioning.
Officials are currently probing whether Ranya was acting independently or was part of a larger smuggling network operating between Dubai and India.
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