Police busted a fake currency racket and nabbed seven people, seizing notes having face value of Rs 5.72 lakh on Friday.

Patna senior superintendent of police (SSP) Manu Maharaj said: “The police were tipped off that some people were coming near Sipraa bridge in Beur area to deliver a consignment of counterfeit notes. The cops constituted a team and arrested them.”

The police also seized a motorcycle, six cellphones and two bags. Of the seven people arrested, Sanaual Sheikh and Dinesh Sarkar hail from Malda in Bengal, the rest are from different parts of Bihar. Sanaual has several criminal cases lodged against him at Beur and Chowk police stations in Patna.

The seizure of the fake notes, the SSP said, points to the magnitude of the racket thriving in Bihar’s border districts. “The racketeers engaged unemployed youths and women. They said private vehicles were used to deliver the counterfeit notes. To minimise suspicion, women couriers, particularly those with kids, were used. The women were paid 30 per cent of the total face value of fake notes.”

The seized notes originated in Pakistan and Bangladesh. The SSP said: “Women wearing burqas used to pose as grass-cutters and cross over from Bangladesh with the fake notes. The notes arrived in Patna via Malda.”