from the streets

It refers to someone or something that is involved with underground crime, when one refers to “copping” something from the “streets” they are referring to going out and dealing with professional entrepreneurs who specialize in distribution of items that are not usually being inventoried, written down on the books, taxed or attained from legitimate wholesalers and distributors. These items are not commonly transported through traditional logistical options but instead brought over international and state lines by “runners.” Runners are the drivers hired to fulfill logistical obligations for the distributors who then route the items to the “streets” so that they can be sold to consumers who are unable to purchase or locate these items through common retailers. The items include narcotics, guns, weapons, animals/reptiles, illegal pornography, tech and in the worse cases human beings.