What does it mean when a mission is illegal?
When taking missions some of them have a special listing as "this action is considered illegal". What exactly does that mean for me? Will I get a bounty on my head for taking it?
Solution 1:
Basically, they're asking you to be a smuggler.
Ultimately it will mean two things while you're carrying that cargo:
- You will need to do a sneaky station entry, unless it's an outpost.
- You will need to avoid being scanned by any system authority ships, such as if one interdicts you.
If a system authority ship (including those orbiting a station entrance) does the kind of scan that shows up as a "scan alert" while you're carrying the illegal cargo, you'll get a fine. If you don't pay the fine within 24 hours it will turn into a bounty (and you'll be wanted in that system). Being caught with illegal cargo will give you a bad reputation with the local system authority faction.
If you're unlucky enough to get caught with the illegal cargo in multiple systems, you could end up with multiple fines. I believe if you're caught again by the same authority (interdicted and scanned then enter a station they control), you won't actually get fined a second time for the same illegal cargo containers.
Note that some missions that don't have that warning, are actually for commodities that might be illegal in other systems.
Solution 2:
It involves performing actions that are illegal and will get you bounties if caught, like attacking Clean ships in non-Anarchy systems or transporting cargo that's illegal in certain systems (such as Performance Enhancers and Slaves).
The mission itself won't get you a bounty, but completing it just might cause you end up with a fine or a bounty on your head if you're not careful.