Ranya Rao Booked Under Stringent Anti-Smuggling & Foreign Exchange Law, Sent To Bengaluru Central Jail

SOURCE ; NEW18

Last Updated:April 26, 2025, 00:02 IST

Ranya Rao and her two aides – Tarun Konduru Raju and Sahil Sakariya Jain – were detained under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974

Kannada actor Ranya Rao, who was arrested for allegedly smuggling gold, was booked under India’s stringent foreign exchange and anti-smuggling law. She was lodged in the Bengaluru Central Jail.

Ranya Rao, alias Harshavardhini Ranya, and her two aides – Telugu actor and entrepreneur Tarun Konduru Raju and Bellary-based jeweller Sahil Sakariya Jain – have all been placed under detention under the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974, or COFEPOSA.

An order issued by the department of revenue, Central Economic Intelligence Bureau, a copy of which was accessed by News18, said “with a view of preventing her (Rao) from smuggling goods, engaging in transporting, concealing and keeping smuggled goods”, it was necessary to detain Ranya in the central jail, known as Parappana Agrahara Central Prison. Tarun and Sahil were detained on the same grounds.

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) told the Karnataka High Court, during the bail hearing of all three accused, that they were working as a syndicate and are suspected to have smuggled at least 100 kg gold into India since early 2024.

Ranya was first arrested on March 3 at Kempegowda International Airport, when she arrived from Dubai carrying 14.2 kg gold worth Rs 12.56 crore. She had initially claimed she was just a mule, forced to carry the consignment by an unknown man who contacted her via VoIP (voice over internet protocol) calls.

She had further claimed that she was forced to sign on the seizure report, but the DRI probe revealed that the narrative was false. On March 11, Tarun was arrested as her co-accused.

The DRI said he and Ranya were college friends who later floated a company called ‘Vira Diamonds Trading LLC’ in Dubai in 2023. Both held a 50 percent stake while Ranya was the sole investor, putting in Rs 8 to 10 lakh and Tarun managed operations. The company would allegedly import gold from Geneva and Bangkok to Dubai and then smuggle it into India, bypassing customs duty, the agency said.

The DRI further said both Ranya and Tarun were in Dubai on March 3. Ranya booked her flight from Dubai to Hyderabad using her American Express card but then flew to Bengaluru with the smuggled gold.

Officials said Tarun had handed over the gold to her in Dubai, and she transferred money into his account the same day. Their travel records revealed that they had made 26 trips to Dubai in the last one year. Tarun’s bail was denied, with the DRI calling him part of a larger international smuggling racket.

On March 26, the DRI arrested Sahil, a businessman and hawala operator from Bellary, as the third accused. He already had a smuggling case against him from 2019-2020.

The agency said he helped sell the smuggled gold and handled the hawala money. It also said he had received gold from Ranya on several occasions. He was booked under Section 104 of the Customs Act.

Raids at Ranya’s residence on Lavelle Road led to the seizure of two Dubai customs declarations dated November 13 and December 20, 2024. The documents falsely declared that gold was being exported to Geneva but, instead, was routed into India.

Investigators said Ranya had secured a Dubai residency card through the company, which gave her travel exemptions. She and Tarun used hawala channels to send money from India to Dubai and made foreign currency payments to suppliers. The business, on the surface, looked legitimate but was allegedly being used as a cover for smuggling.

The DRI also found that Ranya and Tarun faced a financial setback when a Dubai-based gold dealer failed to deliver gold worth Rs 1.7 crore despite payment. Officials said this money, too, was moved through hawala.