Actor Ranya Rao to serve 1 year in jail under strict anti-smuggling laws
Actor Ranya Rao to serve 1 year in jail under strict anti-smuggling laws
Digital Desk: The Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities (COFEPOSA) Act, 1974, has been invoked by the Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB) against Kannada actor Ranya Rao, who was allegedly caught smuggling 14.8 kg of gold at Bengaluru airport on March 3.
Anupam Prakash, Joint Secretary, COFEPOSA Wing, of the Central Economic Intelligence Bureau, issued an order on April 22, 2025, stating that the Act had been invoked against Ranya Rao "to prevent her from smuggling goods, engaging in transporting, concealing, and keeping smuggled goods in the future."
The COFEPOSA Act authorizes preventative detention without bail for up to a year. The court has presently deferred its decision on granting bail.
The DRI's major claim about Ranya Rao's confession in the gold smuggling case came just days after it claimed it had evidence of the actor and her friend Tarun Raju making 26 trips to Dubai, leaving in the morning and returning in the evening.
Moreover, Ranya Rao's bail application has been rejected twice, once by a lower court and again by the Special Court for Economic Offences.
