KOLKATA: The Border Security Force (BSF) seized Fake Indian Currency Notes (FICN) of face value nearly Rs 14 lakh near the Indo-Bangladesh border in the Baishnabnagar police station area of Malda on Tuesday. The consignment is suspected to have been smuggled in by Bangladeshi smugglers and hidden under a culvert. It was seized by the BSF before Indian smugglers managed to reach the spot. "Troops of the 20 Bn BSF, posted at the Daulatpur Border Out Post, carried out a special operations on Tuesday based on specific information. The FICN was wrapped in polythene sheets and hidden under a culvert. There were 1,699 currency notes in all. Of these, 1100 were of Rs 1,000 face value. The remaining notes were of Rs 500 denomination. We suspect that they were placed at the spot by Bangladeshi smugglers. Their counterparts in India were supposed to pick up the packets and distribute them to others. However, the BSF reached the spot before the smugglers could," an official said.

The BSF considers this a major seizure. In 2013, the BSF seized FICN of face value Rs 85 lakh in this sector. In 2014, the haul is Rs 18,39,500. In the last several years, Malda has emerged as a major conduit for the entry of FICN into the country. Fake currency notes smuggled in across the international border in Malda have been seized in places like Moradabad and Lucknow in the recent past. A lot of the FICN is also transported to the southern parts of the country and distributed.

"We have taken the matter up with Bangladeshi authorities. They claim that much of the FICN reaches their country from foreign shores. The quality of the currency notes keep getting batter, making it difficult to identify a fake one. More care has to be taken now that the country is preparing for Lok Sabha polls. Agencies like the CBI and NSA are also probing the movement of FICN from Malda to the rest of the country," another official said.