In third arrest in Ranya Rao case, businessman who helped her sell smuggled gold nabbed

Ranya Rao was arrested at Bengaluru International Airport on March 3, after arriving from Dubai with 14.2 kg of gold worth Rs 12.56 crore wrapped on her body. She is accused of attempting to evade Rs 4.83 crore in customs duty by not declaring the gold to customs authorities and instead walking through a green channel with the escort of a Bengaluru police protocol official.

Ranya Rao is the stepdaughter of DGP-rank IPS officer K Ramachandra Rao. The DRI claims that the police protocol service available at the airport was misused for gold smuggling by his stepdaughter.

On March 9, the DRI arrested Tarun Konduru Raju, alias Virat Konduru, an associate of the actress, after forensic analysis of her mobile phone and laptop revealed links to him. Ranya Rao is alleged to have financed gold purchases in Dubai through Konduru, utilising his US passport to pass gold consignments through Dubai customs before smuggling them to Bengaluru.

The actress reportedly travelled to Dubai 27 times in 2025 alone, making 25 single-day trips to bring back gold for sale in India. The DRI is investigating the source of funds for the gold purchases and travel tickets for Ranya Rao and her associate, alleging that the funds were transferred through hawala routes. The agency is also investigating the final purchasers of the smuggled gold in India.