India, March 22 -- Arrested Kannada actress Ranya Rao and her associate Tarun Konduru Raju were cheated of Rs.2 crore by a Ugandan gold agent who had assured them of a direct supply of the precious metal from Africa, before they could buy gold in Dubai and smuggle it to India, officials familiar with the matter said on Saturday, quoting from the Enforcement Directorate's (ED) charge sheet in the gold smuggling case.

Rao and Raju had sought help from Kenyan officials on the fraud before deciding against sourcing gold directly from Africa, the officials added, requesting anonymity.

On March 3, 2025, Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) officials had intercepted Ranya Rao, stepdaughter of senior IPS officer K Ramachandra Rao, at Kempe...