Dragnet

(n.) A systematic plan for apprehending a criminal, or a net for trawling along the bottom of a body of water, as in fishing.

Thesaurus Entries

abduction, apprehension, arrest, arrestation, bait, birdlime, bola, capture, catch, catching, cobweb, collaring, coup, domiciliary visit, exploration, fishhook, fly, forage, forcible seizure, frisk, gill net, grab, grabbing, ground bait, hold, hook, house-search, hunt, hunting, jig, kidnapping, lariat, lasso, lime, lure, meshes, nabbing, net, noose, perquisition, picking up, plug, posse, pound net, power grab, prehension, probe, purse seine, quest, ransacking, rummage, running in, search, search party, search warrant, search-and-destroy operation, searching, seine, seizure, seizure of power, snare, snatch, snatching, sniggle, spinner, springe, squid, stalk, stalking, still hunt, taking in, taking into custody, toils, trawl, turning over, wobbler