Probably Stolen contraband is any lot the game flags as stolen or illegal, and the client-demand colours separate three tiers in the interface — normal, stolen and contraband. Where contraband is legal until you own it is the display case, so hot stock in the window is an advertisement. Your hiding spots are the smuggler bay, the Mini Smuggler Bay, a contraband locker, the 2x2 slot behind the poster, the trash can and a prison wallet.
Probably Stolen Contraband: Where To Hide A Hot Lot
| Hiding spot | Notes |
|---|---|
| 2x2 slot behind the poster | Available before you can afford a bay |
| Contraband locker | The other early option |
| Smuggler bay | The documented main hiding spot |
| Mini Smuggler Bay | Smaller version of the same |
| Trash can | Works, but see the inspection notes below |
| Prison wallet | A separate place for a separate kind of lot |
Two rules cut across all of them:
- Never leave hot lots on the outside counter overnight. Theft still applies and you will have paid twice.
- The display case is not a place to show off. An earlier patch closed a loop where flashing contraband in the case and then hiding it in the smuggler bay passed the inspection and still granted Security reputation. A cleared inspection caused by contraband shown in the case now pays no Security standing.
Hot stock is cheap when it comes from the right place. The permits and underground market page covers where discounted lots come from.
Probably Stolen Inspection: What Gets Searched
Inspectors are customers. Weapons are the line that brings inspections, and a Gunsmith inherits inspection traffic from day one.
- The shop's main compartment is always in scope.
- Lazy guards are reported to search only the main compartment.
- Security standing can make officers ignore caught stock, so high standing reduces inspection risk without removing it.
- Inspections do look inside bays.
Inspection risk scales with what you stock: a window full of unlicensed iron meets the inspection line faster than a window of berries. The window is where a search becomes likely, and the display case page covers what you put in it and when.
Confiscation Or Bribe
There are only two outcomes, and both cost you:
- Confiscation of the goods.
- A bribe to get out of it. A bribe you cannot afford is a confiscation.
Budget the bribe as a line item, because a confiscation during a deficit week is how a shop dies. Lou cannot be shot during any of her visits, so a visit from her can never be ended with the gun.