Malda, May 7: The BSF seized counterfeit Indian notes with a face value of about Rs 64.6 lakh from the India-Bangladesh border in Baishnabnagar in what was touted to be the single largest recovery of fake currency in the district.

Jawans of the 20th Battalion of the BSF arrested Barkat Ali, 22, from Daulatpur on the border and recovered the fake notes from him.

BSF sources said the arrest had been made on the basis of a tip-off. "Around 11pm yesterday, Ali was waiting to meet three to four Bangladeshi men, who came to hand over the fake notes to him. While Ali could be apprehended, the Bangladeshis managed to escape," said a BSF source.

Daulatpur is around 75km from Malda.

The source said Ali was an active member of the fake currency racket and moved between India and Bangladesh taking advantage of unfenced areas along the frontier. "We have specific information that Ali was part of a fake currency racket being run from Bangladesh by one Saddam Sheikh. Saddam also has a place to stay in the Daulatpur area," said the BSF source.

The deputy inspector-general of the BSF's Malda sector, A. S. Rathore, visited Daulatpur today. "We arrested Barkat Ali with a large consignment of fake Indian currencies. He is being interrogated for further information," Rathore said.

According to the BSF sources, the fake notes of Rs 64.6 lakh seized from Ali was the largest haul of counterfeit Indian currency in the Malda district.

"In 2014, fake notes with a face value of nearly Rs 1.9 crore had been seized from the border in Malda district and 30 persons arrested. Till May 7 this year, we recovered fake notes of about Rs 1.2 crore and held six persons. The smuggling of fake currencies from Bangladesh began around six years back and this is the largest haul we have made in Malda district," said the BSF source.