The sandfish consignment seized by customs on Wednesday. (Amit Datta)

If you think the only fish worth confiscating is the silvery one that trickles in through the Indo-Bangladesh border at this time of the year, it’s because you aren’t a customs officer. Or an aphrodisiac fan, for that matter.

A 20-member customs team on the trail of a Rs 1-crore consignment of sandfish, a skink-like species that can swim through sand, struck pay dirt near Dhakuria Lake on Wednesday after waiting hours for the two couriers to show up.

The duo fled after a chase, leaving behind two plastic bags containing as many as 10,000 dead sandfish. “The innards had been taken out but the shape of the body and the scales were intact,” customs superintendent Atanu Das told Metro.

The consignment apparently originated in Iraq and made its way to Calcutta via Pakistan and Delhi. The sandfish were to be smuggled out to Bangladesh, from where they would have reached China.

“Sandfish are prized in some countries, including China. Those who believe it acts as an aphrodisiac usually consume it fried or powdered,” said a member of the customs team.

The sandfish is native to North Africa and parts of southwestern Asia and is popular in the UK and the US as a pet. Although it doesn’t find mention in the wildlife department’s list of endangered species, it is globally considered a threatened desert reptile.

Superintendent Das said news of such a consignment being headed for Bangladesh via Calcutta arrived recently and the customs department immediately formed a team to intercept it.

“We were informed that the consignment would reach the Lake area on Wednesday. So we deployed 20 plainclothesman who lay in wait for the couriers who were supposed to deliver the sandfish to their Calcutta-based agents,” he recounted.

Around 9am, the officers spotted two men carrying plastic bags walking down Southern Avenue. “As we were about to cordon off the road, the duo sensed they were being followed and ran. Our men gave chase, forcing the couriers to leave behind the plastic bags,” Das said.