Kannada actress Ranya Rao was arrested at Bengaluru International Airport after officials found 14.8 kg of gold in her possession, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) said on Tuesday.

She was arrested on Monday night and taken to an economic offences court, which sent her to 14 days of judicial custody. Officials said Rao had arrived from Dubai on an Emirates flight and was under watch because of her frequent international trips.

Investigators found that she had allegedly smuggled the gold by wearing some of it and hiding gold bars in her clothing. Authorities became suspicious after noticing that Ranya Rao had travelled to Dubai four times in 15 days. This led them to closely monitor her return.

Initial investigations say that she may have tried to use her connections to avoid customs checks. Reports say that after landing, she allegedly claimed to be the daughter of Karnataka's Director General of Police and even contacted local police for an escort home.

Officials are now investigating whether any police officers, including her IPS relative, were aware of her actions or were misled into helping her. After her arrest, Rao was taken to the DRI headquarters in Bengaluru's HBR Layout for questioning.

Authorities are also checking if she was working alone or was part of a bigger smuggling network between Dubai and India. Ranya Rao, known for her role opposite Kannada superstar Sudeep in Maanikya (2014), has also acted in a few other South Indian films.

Who is  Ranya Rao 

Ranya Rao, who is from Chikmagalur, Karnataka, studied engineering at Dayananda Sagar College of Engineering in Bengaluru before entering the film industry, Times of India reported.She made her film debut in 2014 with the Kannada movie Maanikya, where she played Manasa, a rich young woman and the love interest of the main character, played by Sudeep, who also directed the film.

In 2016, she stepped into Tamil cinema with the movie Wagah, a romantic drama where she starred alongside Vikram Prabhu.The next year, in 2017, she returned to Kannada films with Pataki, a comedy in which she played Sangeetha, a journalist and the love interest of actor Ganesh’s character.

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