BENGALURU: Sandalwood actress Ranya Rao, accused of gold smuggling, allegedly followed a specific dress code pattern while traveling to conceal the gold that she was bringing in. Customs officials found that she wore jackets and goggles while returning from Dubai.
Ranya’s travel history revealed that she followed a consistent dressing pattern — She would come to the airport wearing a normal dress while boarding, but wore jackets and goggles while returning from Dubai, and travelled back and forth within 24 hours. She used to book night flights and quickly left the airport, citing protocol.
She wore goggles to not show fear and nervousness in her eyes. Despite fear, she looked more confident during checking and several common factors were found in Ranya’s travel history, raising suspicions about her involvement in gold smuggling.
Ranya planned to open a grand jewellery store in Bengaluru, according to high-ranking sources. As per her travel history, she made trips to Dubai from various airports in India. Since 2020, Ranya Rao has traveled abroad 90 times, with 60 trips from Bengaluru International Airport, 25 from Mumbai International Airport, and two each from Chennai and Hyderabad, and one from Kolkata.
In the last five years, Ranya’s travel history shows that 2024 was her “golden era,” with 46 trips from Bengaluru International Airport to Dubai between January 2024 and March 2025. The investigation has revealed that Ranya may have been smuggling since July 28, 2023, with 51 trips to Dubai and returns within 24 hours, raising suspicions. The DRI authorities have continued their investigation into Ranya’s alleged gold smuggling activities.
