W. Va. Code § 60A-7-703 — WV Code / Chapter 60A / Article 7 / Section 703
§60A-7-703. Items subject to forfeiture; persons authorized to seize property subject to forfeiture.
Status: in_force

(a) The following are subject to forfeiture:

(1) All controlled substances which have been manufactured, distributed, dispensed or possessed in violation of this chapter;

(2) All raw materials, products and equipment of any kind which are used, or intended for use, in manufacturing, compounding, processing, delivering, importing or exporting any controlled substance in violation of this chapter;

(3) All tax-not-paid tobacco products, as that term is defined in section two, article seventeen, chapter eleven of this code, declared to be contraband under said article;

(4) All property which is used, or has been used, or is intended for use, as a container for property described in subdivision (1), (2) or (3) of this subsection;

(5) All conveyances, including aircraft, vehicles or vessels, which are used, have been used, or are intended for use, to transport, or in any manner to facilitate the transportation, sale, receipt, possession or concealment of property described in subdivision (1), (2) or (3) of this subsection, except that:

(i) A conveyance used by any person as a common carrier in the transaction of business as a common carrier shall not be forfeited under this section unless it appears that the person owning the conveyance is a consenting party or privy to a violation of this chapter;

(ii) A conveyance shall not be forfeited under the provisions of this article if the person owning the conveyance establishes that he or she neither knew, nor had reason to know, that the conveyance was being employed or was likely to be employed in a violation of this chapter; and

(iii) A bona fide security interest or other valid lien in any conveyance shall not be forfeited under the provisions of this article, unless the state proves by a preponderance of the evidence that the holder of the security interest or lien either knew, or had reason to know, that the conveyance was being used or was likely to be used in a violation of this chapter;

(6) All books, records, research products and materials, including formulas, microfilm, tapes and data which are used, or have been used, or are intended for use, in violation of this chapter;

(7) All moneys, negotiable instruments, securities or other things of value furnished or intended to be furnished in violation of this chapter by any person in exchange for a controlled substance, all proceeds traceable to the exchange and all moneys, negotiable instruments and securities used, or which have been used, or which are intended to be used to facilitate any violation of this chapter: Provided, That no property may be forfeited under this subdivision, to the extent of the interest of an owner, by reason of any act or omission established by that owner to have been committed or omitted without his or her knowledge or consent; and

(8) All real property, including any right, title and interest in any lot or tract of land, and any appurtenances or improvements, which are used, or have been used, or are intended to be used, in any manner or part, to commit or to facilitate the commission of a violation of this chapter punishable by more than one year imprisonment: Provided, That no property may be forfeited under this subdivision, to the extent of an interest of an owner, by reason of any act or omission established by that owner to have been committed or omitted without his or her knowledge or consent.

The requirements of this subsection pertaining to the removal of seized property are not mandatory in the case of real property and the appurtenances to the real property.

(b) Property subject to forfeiture under this article may be seized by any person granted enforcement powers in section five hundred one, article five of this chapter (hereinafter referred to as the "appropriate person" in this article).

(c) Controlled substances listed in article two of this chapter which are manufactured, possessed, transferred, sold or offered for sale in violation of this chapter are contraband and shall be seized and summarily forfeited to the state. Controlled substances which are seized or come into the possession of the state, the owners of which are unknown, are contraband and shall be summarily forfeited to the state upon the seizure of the controlled substances.

(d) Species of plant from which controlled substances may be derived which have been planted or cultivated in violation of the provisions of this chapter, or of which the owners or cultivators are unknown, or which are wild growths may be seized and summarily forfeited to the state upon the seizure of the plants.

(e) The failure, upon demand by the appropriate person, or his or her authorized agent, of the person in occupancy or in control of land or premises upon which the species of plants are growing or being stored, to produce an appropriate registration, or proof that he or she is the holder of an appropriate registration, constitutes authority for the seizure and forfeiture of the plants.

(f) Notwithstanding any provision of this article to the contrary, controlled substances listed in article two of this chapter and species of plants from which controlled substances may be derived shall either be destroyed or used only for investigative or prosecutorial purposes.

(g) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this article to the contrary, any items of real property or any items of tangible personal property sold to a bona fide purchaser are not subject to forfeiture unless the state establishes by clear and convincing proof that the bona fide purchaser knew or should have known that the property had in the previous three years next preceding the sale been used in violation of this chapter or that the property is a controlled substance.