Arrest reportedly aggressive trader beforehand and demolish them (8)
I believe the answer is:
bulldoze
'arrest' is the definition.
The answer and definition can be both to do with contact as well as being verbs in their base form.
Maybe there's a link between them I don't understand?
I don't understand how the rest of the clue works.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for bulldoze that I've seen before include "Clear earth with powerful machine, or force through" , "Force through (against all opposition)" , "Demolish; ride roughshod over" , "Raze to the ground" , "Destroy" .)