Indian actress linked to smuggling says she learnt from YouTube videos how to hide gold

Kannada actor Ranya Rao, who was arrested earlier this month at Bengaluru airport in connection with a gold smuggling case, revealed during interrogation that it was her first time smuggling gold from Dubai to Bengaluru. Rao admitted to receiving calls from unknown numbers and claimed she learned how to hide gold by watching YouTube videos.

"The gold was in two plastic-wrapped packets. I attached the gold bars to my body in the airport restroom, hiding them in my jeans and shoes. I learned how to do this from YouTube videos," the actor stated.

She clarified, "This was the first time I smuggled gold from Dubai to Bengaluru. I’ve never brought or purchased gold from Dubai before," denying any previous involvement in smuggling.

Rao told Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials that she received instructions for smuggling gold from a foreign phone number. “On March 1, I received a call from an unknown foreign number. I had been getting calls from unfamiliar foreign numbers for the past two weeks. I was told to go to Gate A at Terminal 3 of Dubai Airport, collect the gold, and deliver it to Bengaluru,” she explained.

Rao said the person who gave her the gold bars after she passed through security was tall, fair-skinned, and left immediately after handing them over. "I am not sure who called me, but the caller had an African-American accent," she said. “After passing through security, a man gave me the gold bars and left right away. He was about six feet tall and fair-skinned."

She also detailed how she was instructed to place the gold in an autorickshaw after passing through Bengaluru airport's toll gate. "I was told to go to the service road after the toll gate and leave the gold near the signal, but I wasn’t given the vehicle’s number,” she said.

When questioned about her potential involvement in a larger smuggling operation, Rao insisted, “I was only told to collect the gold from one unknown person and deliver it to another."

Rao further disclosed that she had booked her flight using Jatin Vijay Kumar's credit card. In her statement, she also explained her frequent international travel, which she attributed to work in real estate and photography. She mentioned having traveled to Europe, America, Africa, and the Middle East on multiple occasions.