smugglers
Illicit goods movers
Smugglers are people who move goods or people illegally across borders or past authorities.
The term covers those who evade customs duties on merchandise, transport contraband like drugs or weapons, or help migrants cross borders without authorization: The smugglers charged thousands to cross the desert.
Smuggler can carry romantic associations from literary pirates and rum-runners, but modern usage often centers on criminal networks.
Below ground or countercultural
- secretiveInclined to conceal
- illicitProhibited by law
- stealthySecretly cautious in movement
- covertIntentionally concealed
surreptitious · black-market · evasion · bribes · lookouts · informants · customs · border patrol
Fugitives from justice
- gangstersOrganized crime members
- traffickersThose who trade illegally
- cartelsCollusive business alliances
- syndicatesOrganized groups sharing enterprise
kingpins · operatives · accomplices · fugitives · racketeers · networks · rings · organized crime
Illicit alcohol trafficking
- speakeasyIllicit liquor establishment
- moonshineIllegally distilled spirits
- prohibitionAuthoritative legal ban
- whiskeyOak-aged grain spirit
bathtub gin · roaring twenties · hooch · bootleg · distillery · rumrunners · speakeasies · repeal
Underground hollow pathways
- bordersLines separating regions
- coastlinesLand-water boundaries
- checkpointsInspection stations along routes
- mulesEquine crossbreeds or smugglers
couriers · safe houses · secret passages · caves · coves · mountain passes · desert crossings · submarines
Caribbean sea raiders
- corsairsSeafaring plunderers
- privateersLicensed wartime ship raiders
- freebootersMaritime raiders seeking plunder
- swashbucklersFlamboyant adventurous swordsmen
brigands · high seas · galleons · treasure · schooners · plunder · pirate ships · coastal raids
Drugs inducing sleep, numbness
- armsUpper body limbs
- counterfeitFraudulent imitation
- wildlifeUndomesticated natural organisms
- ivoryTusk-derived material
artifacts · diamonds · currency · drugs · tobacco · medicines · gold · antiquities
Illicit trading network
- dealersThose who sell merchandise
- brokersTransaction intermediaries
- middlemenIntermediaries in transactions
- caravansGroups traveling together
merchants · silk road · importers · exporters · bazaars · underground economy · profiteers · supply chains
underground
Below ground or countercultural
covert · surreptitious · black-market · evasion · bribes · lookouts · informants · customs · border patrol · contraband
outlaws
Fugitives from justice
- gangstersOrganized crime members
- traffickersThose who trade illegally
- cartelsCollusive business alliances
syndicates · kingpins · operatives · accomplices · fugitives · racketeers · networks · rings · organized crime · underworld
rum-running
Illicit alcohol trafficking
- speakeasyIllicit liquor establishment
- moonshineIllegally distilled spirits
- prohibitionAuthoritative legal ban
whiskey · bathtub gin · roaring twenties · hooch · bootleg · distillery · rumrunners · speakeasies · repeal · 18th amendment
tunnels
Underground hollow pathways
- bordersLines separating regions
- coastlinesLand-water boundaries
- checkpointsInspection stations along routes
mules · couriers · safe houses · secret passages · caves · coves · mountain passes · desert crossings · submarines · false bottoms
buccaneers
Caribbean sea raiders
- corsairsSeafaring plunderers
- privateersLicensed wartime ship raiders
- freebootersMaritime raiders seeking plunder
swashbucklers · brigands · high seas · galleons · treasure · schooners · plunder · pirate ships · coastal raids · maritime
narcotics
Drugs inducing sleep, numbness
- armsUpper body limbs
- counterfeitFraudulent imitation
- wildlifeUndomesticated natural organisms
ivory · artifacts · diamonds · currency · drugs · tobacco · medicines · gold · antiquities · exotic animals
black-market
Illicit trading network
- dealersThose who sell merchandise
- brokersTransaction intermediaries
- middlemenIntermediaries in transactions
caravans · merchants · silk road · importers · exporters · bazaars · underground economy · profiteers · supply chains · fences
- British CrimeJack the Ripper, Scotland Yard, Old Bailey, Met Police, Burke and Hare
- nauticalanchor, anchor chain, anchors, boat, boats
- roguesrogue, rogues, scoundrel, scoundrels, rascal
- sea talespirate story, sea stories, sea story, mermaid tale, ghost ships
- space operaStar Wars, Star Trek, Dune, hyperspace, lightsaber
- black marketblack market, illegal trade, contraband, traffickers, bootleggers
smugglerscustoms officers
Entry point inspectors
border patrol agents · customs agents · border guards · law enforcement · coast guard
- people smugglerOne who transports undocumented migrants
- smuggler's coveSecret coastal landing place
- smuggle pastTransport secretly past barriers
- budgie smugglerTight men's swimming briefs
- arms smugglerIllegal weapons trafficker
- smugglers covesHidden inlets for illegal trade