drug traffic
2
4.2
- noun
- /drʌɡ ˈtræfɪk/
- NSFW
:
tráfico de drogas
- The authorities are working hard to eradicate drug traffic in the region.
Examples
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The sheer volume of the current illicit drug traffic, combined with the market's tendency to adapt to enforcement and replace the drugs, dealers, and even dealing organizations taken out of action by the authorities, makes routine drug law enforcement an exercise in shoveling sand against the tide.
Academic text (2011) -
The Panamanian general was hardly the only Latin American leader to have combined friendly relations with drug lords and an ostensibly pro-US stance against the illicit drug traffic.
Academic text (1999) -
I'm breaking the story on the drug traffic around here.
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First of all, the place is surrounded by favelas... owned by the drug traffic.
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Are French youth running the drug traffic while studying for the baccalaureate exam?
Academic text (2011) -
Although the officers of the US Foreign Service were not trained to think of the drug traffic as a foreign policy issue, the people of the United States insisted that they do so.
Academic text (1991) -
Emphasize interdiction of the drug traffic in order to reduce the resources that now flow to the Shining Path.
Academic text (1992) -
This ceaseless fight against the drug traffic is directed by the Department of Narcotics, Washington.
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It shows the direct and absolute correlation of police corruption to drug traffic.
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The United States and other nations have not given up on the more traditional means of attacking drug traffic at the street level, nor have major international law enforcement bodies given up on controlling wholesale production and export.
Academic text (1994)
Synonyms
183
5.6
Illegal buying and selling of people, animals and goods often across borders
36
4.6
Illegal buying, selling, or moving of drugs such as heroin
Illegal sale and smuggling of drugs
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'the illegal trade of drugs' is directly compositional from 'drug' (narcotics) + 'traffic' (illicit commerce) so a learner who knows both senses can infer the phrase. This noun–noun combination and the concept of ‘drug trafficking’ have close parallels in many languages, making the expression transparently interpretable for a B1 learner.
Etymology
The noun drug traffic uses traffic to mean trade or movement, so picture drugs being moved like cars in a secret convoy. That's why drug traffic means 'the illegal trade of drugs' today.