The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has busted a major gold smuggling gang. The Finance Ministry said on Wednesday that 14.2 kg of gold worth more than Rs 12 crore has been seized under this. DRI officials stopped a female passenger at Kempegowda International Airport in Bengaluru and recovered foreign gold bars worth Rs 12.56 crore from her.

This Indian female passenger (33 years old) arrived in Bengaluru from Dubai on March 3, 2025, by Emirates flight. On investigation, it was found that she had cleverly hidden gold bars weighing 14.2 kg on her body. Surprisingly, this woman is none other than Kannada actress Ranya Rao.

After the seizure, the house was also searched.

A statement said that gold worth Rs 12.56 crore was seized under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962. After this, the officials searched the woman's residence in Bengaluru, where gold jewelry worth Rs 2.06 crore and Indian currency worth Rs 2.67 crore were seized. The statement said that the female passenger was arrested under the provisions of the Customs Act, 1962, and sent to judicial custody.

What does the government do with the seized gold?

Government agencies dispose of the gold seized in smuggling under certain procedures.

Auction: The government or enforcement agencies can sell the gold seized from smugglers in a public auction.

Handing over to RBI: The gold seized in smuggling is transferred to the RBI by keeping it under the ownership of the government.

If a person legally proves that the seized gold was his and was not related to smuggling, then he can get the gold back after a court order.

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