DRI said the co-accused travelled to Hyderabad from Dubai on the day of Ranya Rao’s arrest using money sent by the actress to purchase flight tickets.
The actor, currently under judicial custody, was arrested on March 3 by the DRI at Kempegowda International Airport (KIAD) in Bengaluru for allegedly smuggling 14.8 kilograms of gold from Dubai.
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According to DRI’s complaint to the CBI, after Ranya Rao’s arrest on March 3, two foreign nationals were also arrested on March 6 from Mumbai airport for attempting to smuggle 21.28 Kg of gold into India worth Rs. 18.92 crore.
“This may have larger national and international ramifications. The possibility of involvement of unknown public servants of the Govt. of India and unknown others, with such coordinated network, needs to be investigated,” the complaint said.
The agency’s submission came during a bail application hearing filed by Tarun Raju, who was arrested on March 10.
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Opposing his bail plea, the DRI said the co-accused had travelled to Hyderabad from Dubai on the day of Ranya Rao’s arrest using money sent by the actress to purchase flight tickets.
The DRI said this was part of a plan to smuggle gold to Bangkok and Geneva, News18 reported. To further assert its claim, the agency said that Tarun Raju had travelled to Dubai and returned on the same day on 20 different occasions.
The agency told the court that it issued a lookout circular against Raju when he attempted to escape the country.
Not a flight risk’
Raju’s counsel denied DRI’s claims that he was a flight risk and said he was a Bengaluru resident. The court was also informed that he has no pending legal cases against him.
The CBI has filed an FIR in the gold smuggling case on the complaint of Abhishek Chandra Gupta, Additional Director of DRI.
The Special Court for Economic Offences in Bengaluru reserved its order on Tarun Konduru’s bail plea.
The article originally appeared on Hindustan Times
