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The DRI told a special court that it seized a Dubai residency card and foreign gold from Kannada actor Ranya Rao’s residence. It said they suspect that the smuggling operation was being carried out by an international syndicate
Kannada actor Ranya Rao was arrested at the Bengaluru International Airport on gold smuggling charges. (Image: X)
A state protocol officer, summoned by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence in the gold smuggling case involving Kannada actor Ranya Rao, has said they regularly received calls from senior officers to grant protocol privilege to their family members and relatives.
The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), which opposed bail to Rao in the high-profile case in which she was arrested at the Bengaluru airport for carrying 14 kg gold, gave details of the operation to the court on Wednesday.
The agency told the court that it seized a Dubai residency card as well as foreign gold from the actor’s residence. It suspects that she was involved in hawala transactions, and it was important to find out who the seized cash belongs to.
“We suspect that she had indulged in hawala transactions. We have to find out who the seized cash belongs to. This looks like an international syndicate. Several agencies are investigating this case. All aspects have to be investigated,” the DRI counsel told the court.
WHY DRI WAITED FOR RANYA RAO TO CROSS ‘GREEN CHANNEL’?
The DRI counsel gave details why the agency waited for Rao to cross the ‘green channel’ despite a clear tip-off, on which she was later intercepted. She first came to the duty-free area followed by the customs area and, with the help of a protocol officer, arrived at the ‘green channel’.
“When she crossed the green channel it became clear that she had no intention to declare the gold she had brought. The protocol officer was waiting there. When the customs officers went for a personal check, even then she didn’t reveal that she was carrying the gold,” the counsel said.
The DRI officials first recovered gold from the pocket of her jeans and then her shoes. She had wrapped gold bars around her thighs with a crepe bandage, the counsel said.
According to the DRI, Rao’s flight landed at 6.30 pm on March 3 and the entire procedure went on till 1.30 am. The agency said it arrested her the next morning at 10 am while another person accompanying Rao was sent a summons and their statement was recorded.
The court has reserved its order in Rao’s bail application and is likely to pronounce it on March 14.