31-27-3: Definitions.

As used in the Forfeiture Act:

A. "abandoned property":

(1) is not subject to the provisions of Section 29-1-14 NMSA 1978;

(2) means personal property the rights to which and the control of which an owner has intentionally relinquished; and

(3) does not mean real property;

B. "actual knowledge" means a direct and clear awareness of information, a fact or a condition;

C. "contraband" means goods that may not be lawfully imported, exported or possessed, including drugs that are listed in Schedule I, II, III, IV or V of the Controlled Substances Act [Chapter 30, Article 31 NMSA 1978] and that are possessed without a valid prescription;

D. "conveyance" means a device used for transportation and:

(1) includes a motor vehicle, trailer, snowmobile, airplane, vessel and any equipment attached to the conveyance; but

(2) does not include property that is stolen or taken in violation of a law;

E. "conviction" or "convicted" means that a person has been found guilty of a crime in a trial court whether by a plea of guilty or nolo contendere or otherwise and whether the sentence is deferred or suspended;

F. "crime" means a violation of a criminal statute for which property of the offender is subject to seizure and forfeiture;

G. "instrumentality" means all property that is otherwise lawful to possess that is used in the furtherance or commission of an offense to which forfeiture applies and includes land, a building, a container, a conveyance, equipment, materials, a product, a computer, computer software, a telecommunications device, a firearm, ammunition, a tool, money, a security and a negotiable instrument and other devices used for exchange of property;

H. "law enforcement agency" means the employer of a law enforcement officer who is authorized to seize or has seized property pursuant to the Forfeiture Act;

I. "law enforcement officer":

(1) means a state or municipal police officer, county sheriff, deputy sheriff, conservation officer, motor transportation enforcement officer or other state employee authorized by state law to enforce criminal statutes; but

(2) does not mean a correctional officer;

J. "owner" means a person who has a legal or equitable ownership interest in property;

K. "property" means tangible or intangible personal property or real property;

L. "property subject to forfeiture" means property or an instrumentality declared to be subject to forfeiture by the Forfeiture Act or a state law outside of the Forfeiture Act; and

M. "secured party" means a person with a security or other protected interest in property, whether the interest arose by mortgage, security agreement, lien, lease or otherwise; the purpose of which interest is to secure the payment of a debt or protect a potential debt owed to the secured party.