Crossword Genius

Means to open case to nick Colombian criminal (11,4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

combination lock

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

'means to open case' is the definition.
I can't judge whether this definition defines the answer.

'to nick colombian criminal' is the wordplay.
'criminal' indicates anagramming the letters.
'to'+'nick'+'colombian'='tonickcolombian'
'tonickcolombian' with letters rearranged gives 'COMBINATION LOCK'.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for combination lock that I've seen is " security device".)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.
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