BENGALURU: The DRI, which is probing the gold smuggling case involving actress Ranya Rao, has found that she had previously smuggled around 14.56 kg of gold, with Sahil Sakariya Jain assisting her in selling it in India. This resulted in a customs duty loss of Rs 4.45 crore to the exchequer, the central agency claimed.
A source said that the third accused, Jain, was allegedly involved in selling smuggled gold in India and facilitating hawala transactions. He was involved in plans to dispose of the gold, which was seized from Ranya on March 3. Ranya had contacted Jain through her Dubai phone number and had conversation about disposing the gold
He is a crucial link in the smuggling syndicate, and investigations have uncovered that he helped Ranya twice, before he was arrested on Wednesday.
The source further added that Ranya smuggled gold into India on several occasions in the past, one such instance being on January 11, where gold weighing around 14.56 kg, worth over Rs 11.55 crore, was smuggled by her. Jain helped her sell it, causing a customs duty loss of Rs 4.46 crore.
Rao was arrested on March 3 by the DRI at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIAD) in Bengaluru for allegedly smuggling 14.8 kilograms of gold from Dubai.
Ranya's arrest followed a tip-off regarding her involvement in smuggling gold into India. DRI officials had stationed a team at the airport to intercept her upon arrival, and she was taken into custody immediately after landing.
