Crossword Genius

Evil girl taking in European is criminal (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

illegal

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'is criminal' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)

'evil girl taking in european' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'evil' could be 'ill' (I've seen this in another clue) and 'ill' is present in the answer.
'girl' could be 'gal' (synonyms) and 'gal' is found in the answer.
'european' could be 'e' (abbreviation e.g. EU) and 'e' is located in the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for illegal that I've seen before include "Forbidden" , "crooked" , "Prohibited by law" , "Such an immigrant" , "Unauthorised" .)

I've seen this clue in The Sunday Times.
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