A special court today denied bail to actor Ranya Rao, who was caught smuggling a large amount of gold. A second accused, Tarun Raju, has been sent to judicial custody for 15 days.

Gold bars worth Rs 12.56 crore were seized from Ranya Rao at Bengaluru airport. Following this, officials searched her properties and recovered gold jewellery worth Rs 2.06 crore and Rs 2.67 crore in cash.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) began investigation yesterday into the case involving the actor and step daughter of Karnataka Director General of Police K Ramachandra Rao.

Ranya Rao booked round trip tickets from Bengaluru to Dubai using her husband Jatin Hukkeri’s credit card, raising suspicion about his alleged involvement in the gold smuggling case.

The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) also searched nine locations in Bengaluru belonging to Mr Hukkeri, who got an interim order from the Karnataka High Court restraining the DRI from arresting him.

DRI investigators said Ranya Rao claimed she received calls from unknown numbers instructing her to smuggle the gold. During questioning, she said she learned how to conceal gold by watching YouTube videos.

Ranya Rao told investigators that she was instructed to collect the gold from Gate A of Terminal 3 at Dubai Airport, where a tall man in a gown handed it over to her. She insisted this was her first attempt and that she had never been involved in gold smuggling before.