illegal trade
Contraband commerce activity
Illegal trade is commerce that violates laws—the buying and selling of prohibited goods or conducting transactions outside legal channels.
The term covers a vast range: drug trafficking, arms smuggling, trade in endangered species, counterfeit goods, and human trafficking.
It also includes evading tariffs or sanctions: The company was caught in illegal trade with embargoed countries.
Sometimes called the black market or underground economy.
- smugglingIllegal covert transport
- black marketIllicit trading system
- gray marketUnauthorized but legal trade
- bootleggingIllegal alcohol production/sale
- stolen goodsProperty acquired through theft
poaching · cartel · money laundering · shell companies · human trafficking · fencing · bonded labor · fake passports · wildlife trafficking · arms trafficking · counterfeit goods · underground economy · tax evasion · shadow economy · migrant smuggling · kingpin · drug mules · fraud schemes
- crimesarson, burglary, robbery, kidnapping, vandalism
- environmental threatshabitat loss, deforestation, pollution, climate change, invasive species
- black marketblack market, smugglers, traffickers, bootleggers, counterfeiters
- wildlife threatsbiodiversity loss, extinction, habitat loss, poaching, species extinction
- wildlife tradewildlife trafficking, poaching, rhino horn, shark fins, bushmeat
- piracysoftware piracy, pirates, torrents, book piracy, buccaneers
trade, illegal, trader, trading, trademark, illegally, illegitimate, trade-off, contraband