trap car

plural trap cars

1. governmentA vehicle used by law enforcement agencies as bait to capture car thieves or thieves who steal items from cars.
2. automotiveA vehicle infused with very dark tints in order to evade capture or scrutiny.
3. rail transportA railroad car used for much smaller shipments usually within terminal or city limits.

   Synonyms: ferry car

4. A passenger vehicle used for drug smuggling, having a sophisticated design that reveals “stash spots” for drugs only when certain functions of the vehicle are performed simultaneously or in sequence.

   He got him another trap car Chevy.

   2000, Marlon Wilson, Shorty Four, page 13

   4 more examples

   But a look inside the trunk reveals one of the reasons—a sheet of boilerplate steel mounted at the forward wall. Goff recognizes this setup. It's what they call a "trap car."

   2000, Mike Gray, Drug Crazy: How We Got Into This Mess and How We Can Get Out, page 10

   Ray had bought this particular vehicle from a trap-car shop up in the Bronx. […] Hidden compartments behind the glove box, to the left of the steering column, and in other spots throughout the interior concealed Ray's guns and his personal stash of drugs.

   2010, George Pelecanos, Right As Rain

   The crisp notes travel from local dealers to Mexican distributors and float south over the border in a trap car.

   2012, Ioan Grillo, El Narco: The Bloody Rise of Mexican Drug Cartels, page 151

   The former undercover agent recalled, "we brought up an especially good batch of marijuana from a seizure in Texas, and we showed the targets the dope in a trap car” with secret compartments.

   2021, Hans Nelen, Dina Siegel, Contemporary Organized Crime, page 244