Gold smuggling-accused actors Ranya Rao, Virat Konduru were together in Dubai on March 3, returned separately to India: DRI

The DRI brought out the connection between the two actors during bail arguments in a special court for economic offences in Bengaluru. Konduru’s US citizenship was reportedly utilised by Rao to facilitate the smuggling. “He, being a US citizen, according to the investigation, facilitated the smuggling activity. After crossing Dubai customs, the gold was smuggled to India. Both returned to India by different flights,” argued senior DRI counsel Madhu N Rao.

“The Geneva destination was shown only for the purpose of the declaration of gold in Dubai. This was the sophistication of the operation,” the DRI counsel stated. The counsel further informed the court that Konduru received money from Ranya Rao for booking his Dubai tickets on March 3, the same day as the actress.

The DRI counsel explained that the two actors entered Dubai airport on March 3, with Konduru passing the gold through customs by claiming to travel to Geneva. He then handed the gold to Rao, who concealed it on her person to smuggle it to Bengaluru. Konduru, who had a ticket to Geneva, allegedly took a flight to Hyderabad instead, while Rao travelled to Bengaluru on another flight.

Konduru was not apprehended at the same time as Rao owing to his separate travel plans. His involvement emerged after the DRI analysed Rao’s mobile phone and laptop. “The purpose of the presence of A2 in Dubai was to hand over the gold to A1,” the DRI counsel informed the court.

After Konduru’s identity was established, a look-out circular was issued, and he was stopped by immigration authorities in Hyderabad while attempting to leave the country. He later appeared before the DRI in Bengaluru on March 8 based on a summons and was arrested on March 9 after interrogation.

“Our allegation is that he abetted, aided and assisted in smuggling activity to India,” argued Madhu Rao while seeking denial of bail. The DRI contended that Konduru’s services were used by Rao “to declare (in Dubai) that the gold was being taken to Geneva/Bangkok”.

The DRI has alleged that Konduru obtained tickets to travel to Geneva and Bangkok from Dubai but never actually travelled to those destinations, using the tickets solely for customs declarations for the gold smuggling operation. The two actors are believed to be part of a gold smuggling syndicate and have reportedly smuggled gold to India multiple times using the same modus operandi. They travelled to Dubai together on at least 25 previous occasions, the court was informed.

During searches at Rao’s residence in Bengaluru after her arrest on March 3, the DRI found two declarations made to Dubai customs in 2024 for transporting gold consignments to Geneva. “They had a business in Dubai. We have details of money transfers to Dubai, purchase of gold, the manner of declaration in Dubai, and how it was brought to India,” the DRI counsel argued. “We are uncovering the international links, and it will be detrimental for the accused to be released.”

Senior counsel M M Devaraja, representing Konduru, questioned the actor’s arrest, arguing that no gold was found in his possession and that Rao had not named him in her statements after her arrest. He argued for bail on the grounds of a lack of cogent material, stating that the offence carries a maximum prison term of seven years and that a prima facie case was not made out. He emphasised that Konduru had not attempted to flee the country but had cooperated with the DRI when summoned.

A US citizen by birth, Konduru returned to India with his family after his father’s death and now holds an overseas citizen of India card. The special court has reserved its orders on Konduru’s bail plea. The court on March 14 rejected Rao’s bail plea, citing her possession of a “Resident Identity Card of UAE” and her extensive Dubai travel history.

Ranya Rao is alleged by the DRI to have evaded Rs 4.83 crore in customs duty while attempting to smuggle 14.2 kg of gold worth Rs 12.56 crore into Bengaluru. The DRI also seized Rs 2.67 crore in cash and Rs 2.07 crore of jewellery from her home following searches after her arrest. Although she claimed in statements to the DRI that she received the gold consignment from a stranger outside the Dubai airport, the probe reveals that she played an active role in the smuggling operation, which went beyond that of a mule.

Rao is alleged to have travelled to Dubai 27 times since January. The March 3 trip, during which she was arrested, began with a 4 am flight from Bengaluru to Dubai and a same-day return flight with the gold that landed at 6.20 pm. The DRI has alleged that she and Konduru made as many as 25 one-day trips to Dubai. She has claimed that she was a “real estate freelancer” in Dubai to explain her frequent trips to the UAE.

Actors with not much success in film careers

Ranya Rao is the stepdaughter of K Ramachandra Rao, a 1993-batch IPS officer who is a director-general of police in Karnataka. She is alleged to have used the VIP services available to her stepfather at Bengaluru airport to smuggle the gold ingots strapped to her body. The IPS officer—considered to be close to Karnataka Home Minister G Parameshwara—was asked by the government to go on “compulsory leave” on March 15 amid multiple probes by central agencies into the gold smuggling racket.

Ranya and Konduru, who have known each other for over a decade, are reported to have been partners in a diamond trading company in the UAE, with much of the Dubai document work for gold consignments allegedly done using the firm.

The central agencies are investigating claims that they were involved in importing and selling gold in Dubai from Thailand, Switzerland and Africa. The DRI has indicated in court that payments for the gold consignments were routed through hawala channels from India to facilitate the smuggling.

Neither actor has had a successful film career. Ranya has appeared in three films after her debut in 2014 as a 22-year-old heroine in the Kannada film Manikya. Konduru, part of a prominent Andhra-origin Bengaluru business family—with interests in hospitality, education, power and cable TV—debuted as a hero in the 2018 film Parichayam but did not achieve much success.