The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached properties valued at ₹34.12 crore as part of its investigation into a transnational gold smuggling racket allegedly involving Kannada actress Ranya Rao. Officials said on Friday that Rao and her associates orchestrated a sophisticated network to smuggle foreign-origin gold into India with the help of Dubai-based suppliers, hawala operators, and corrupt airport officials.
Ranya Rao, the stepdaughter of a senior police officer, was intercepted by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) on March 3 at Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport while carrying 14.213 kg of 24-carat gold concealed in her luggage. The seized gold was valued at ₹12.56 crore. Subsequent searches of her residence uncovered ₹2.67 crore in unaccounted cash and gold jewellery worth ₹2.06 crore.
The ED said its probe has so far traced proceeds of crime amounting to ₹55 crore. The agency’s statement revealed that the gold was sourced from suppliers in Dubai, Uganda, and other countries, with payments made through illegal hawala channels to avoid detection. Smugglers filed fake customs declarations in Dubai, falsely naming Switzerland and the USA as the shipment destinations, while actually traveling to India with the contraband. Dual sets of travel documents were used to bypass scrutiny.
Investigators also discovered that the smuggled gold was sold in India for cash to jewellers and local buyers. The proceeds were laundered through additional hawala transactions abroad to fund new consignments. Forensic analysis of seized digital devices uncovered chats, invoices, export declarations, and remittance records proving Rao’s active role in coordinating the network.
Earlier, in May, the ED conducted raids at 16 locations across Karnataka, including premises linked to educational institutions associated with state home minister G Parameshwara and hawala operators. The investigation is part of a larger conspiracy probe involving multiple agencies, including the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the DRI.
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