Actress Ranya Rao jailed for gold smuggling under COFEPOSA

Kannada actress Ranya Rao has been sentenced to one year in prison under COFEPOSA for alleged gold smuggling. Despite earlier bail on technical grounds, she remains in custody after 14.2 kg of gold was seized at Bengaluru airport in March

Bengaluru: Kannada film actress Ranya Rao has been sentenced to one year of imprisonment under the stringent COFEPOSA, in connection with a gold smuggling case. The Advisory Board handling the Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act (COFEPOSA) matter recently ruled that Rao will not be granted bail during the entire term of her detention.

Rao was earlier granted default bail on May 20 by a city court, along with her co-accused Tarun Raju, after the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) failed to file a chargesheet within the legally mandated timeframe.

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Despite the bail being granted on a Rs 2 lakh bond and surety conditions, both Ranya and Tarun continued to remain in custody due to the preventive detention order under COFEPOSA, which permits detention for up to one year even without formal charges, based on suspicion of smuggling activities.

In March, Ranya Rao arrived at from Dubai and attempted to pass through the Kempegowda International Airport’s green channel, typically reserved for passengers without dutiable items.

She appeared anxious when questioned by DRI officials about whether she had any undeclared items. Her suspicious behavior prompted the authorities to conduct a detailed search by female officers.

A total of 14.2 kilograms of gold, valued at approximately Rs 12.56 crore, was recovered from her and she was immediately taken into custody.

Ranya’s earlier bail applications were turned down, twice by local courts and later by the Karnataka High Court.