2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-FOUR - Health and Sanitation (§§ 1 — 15010) › PART V - Controlled Substances (§§ 2101 — 2608) › Chapter 111 - Controlled Substances Act of Puerto Rico (§§ 2101 — 2608) › Subchapter V - Administrative and Other Provisions (§§ 2501 — 2523) › § 2512 - Seizures

(a) The following shall be subject to forfeiture to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico:
(1) All controlled substances which have been manufactured, distributed, dispensed, or acquired in violation of this chapter.
(2) Any raw material, paraphernalia, products or equipment of any sort used or planned to be used in the fabrication, confection of compounds, manufacture, delivery, import or export of any controlled substance, thus violating the provisions of this chapter.
(3) All property which is used, or intended for use, as a container for property described in clauses (1) and (2) of this subsection.
(4) All conveyances, including aircraft, vehicles, mount or vessels, which are 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 clauses (1) and (2) of this subsection.
(5) All books, records and research or investigations, including formulas, microfilm, tapes, and data which are used, or intended for use, in violation of this chapter.
(b) Any property subject to forfeiture under clause (4) of subsection (a) of this section shall be seized by process issued pursuant to Act No. 39, of June 4, 1960, as amended, known as the “Uniform Vehicle, Mount, Vessel and Plane Seizure Act”.
Any property subject to seizure pursuant to clauses (1), (2), (3), and (5) of subsection (a) of this section shall be impounded, seized, and forfeited in accordance to the norms in effect upon conclusion of the proceedings.
(c) Any property subject to forfeiture under clauses (1), (2), (3), and (5) of subsection (a) of this section shall be seized and summarily forfeited by the Secretary, the Superintendent of Police or the Secretary of Justice, to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Property seized and withheld under this subsection shall not be repleviable, but shall be considered to be under the custody of the Secretary of Health, the Superintendent of Police, or the Secretary of Justice, as the case may be, and subject only to the orders and decrees of the court.
When the property seized consists of controlled substances, it shall be the duty of the Police of Puerto Rico or of the Department of Justice, as the case may be, to fill out a form stating the amount of controlled substances forfeited in terms of weight, and packages, containers or units, and the scientific or common name of the substance forfeited, date and place of forfeiture, general conditions as to the state of the controlled substances forfeited, date when it was submitted to the police laboratory for analysis, name and signature of the officer who carried out the forfeiture, as well as any other information deemed to be advisable. This form shall be kept and retained by the Police or the Department of Justice, so that it may be examined by officers duly authorized by the Mental Health and Addiction Services Administration, when the forfeited controlled substances are at the final stages of disposal in the Mental Health and Addiction Services Administration. If, upon receipt of forfeited controlled substances in the Administration for their final disposal, and after examining the above mentioned form, it is found that there is a discrepancy between the amount of controlled substances received in the Administration for final disposal, and the amount stated in the corresponding form, the Administration shall resort to the Department of Justice, and request that the proper investigation be conducted in order to explain the discrepancy and, if necessary, to proceed pursuant to law.
In the case of forfeiture of controlled substances, in which one or both of the following conditions may be present: (1) There are no adequate, safe storage facilities or there are no safe transportation facilities, or (2) when the controlled substances forfeited, whether in small or large amounts, are perishable, the Police or the Department of Justice, as the case may be, shall notify the Mental Health and Addiction Services Administration about the situation and it shall request the presence of this Department to destroy the controlled substances involved. The controlled substances shall be destroyed in the presence of at least one officer of the Administration, the Police, and the Department of Justice, and a certificate shall be issued bearing the signature of the above officers representing said agencies. A sample of the forfeited controlled substances, duly identified and labeled, shall be kept by the Police or by the Department of Justice, if needed for criminal prosecution for violation of this chapter. This sample, together with the corresponding certificate of destruction, and oral testimony regarding such action, shall constitute admissible and sufficient evidence in a criminal prosecution for violation of this chapter.
Whenever the Inspectors of the Administration seize controlled substances they shall fill out the form to which the third paragraph of this subsection refers. Said form shall be kept in the same way and shall be used for the same purposes stated in said paragraph. In those cases in which the Administration Inspectors seize controlled substances, and in which one or both of the situations stated in the fourth paragraph of this subsection coincide, the Administration shall notify the Police and the Department of Justice, and shall request the appearance of the representatives thereof, so that they may be present when the controlled substances are destroyed. The provisions of the fourth paragraph concerning the destruction must be complied with, a certificate issued, and a sample of the controlled substances kept for the purposes of a criminal prosecution for violation of §§ 2101 et seq. of this title. The sample, together with the certificate of destruction and oral testimony regarding such action, shall constitute admissible and sufficient evidence in a criminal prosecution for violation of §§ 2101 et seq. of this title.
(d)
(1) All species of plants from which substances in Schedules I and II may be derived, which have been planted or cultivated in violation of §§ 2101 et seq. of this title, or whose owners or cultivators are unknown, or which are wild growths, may be seized and summarily forfeited by the Secretary, the Superintendent of Police or the Secretary of Justice, [on] behalf of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
(2) The fact that the person who holds, administers or is in possession of land or of the place where such plant grows or is stored, cannot produce, upon the request of the duly authorized officers, a lawfully valid registration or proof that he is the holder of same, shall be a legal basis for its seizure and forfeiture.
(3) The Secretary of Justice or his officers or employees, the controlled substances inspectors, as well as the Police, are hereby authorized to enter any grounds or into any dwellings, by means of a search warrant, to cut, collect, remove or destroy such plant species.
(e) All substances forfeited under this chapter, if they may be used for medical or scientific purposes, shall be delivered by the Secretary to nonprofit charitable institutions, upon request to such effect. If there is no such petition, or if such substances cannot be used for medical or scientific purposes, they shall be destroyed by the Secretary or by his officers, in the presence of a committee composed in the manner that the Secretary may prescribe by regulations, and such committee shall issue a certificate stating the amount and the origin of the substances destroyed and the date on which the destruction took place.
(f) Any person who destroys, conceals or disposes of controlled substances in a manner different from that established herein, in violation of the provisions of this section, shall be punished by imprisonment for a fixed term of six (6) months. Should there be aggravating circumstances, the fixed penalty established may be increased to a maximum of one year; if there should be extenuating circumstances, it may be reduced to a minimum of three (3) months.
The court, in its discretion, may impose the fixed penalty of imprisonment established, or a fine that shall not exceed five hundred dollars ($500) or both penalties.
History —June 23, 1971, No. 4, p. 526, § 512; June 24, 1977, No. 110, p. 277, § 1; June 4, 1980, No. 109, p. 350, § 1; May 4, 1982, No. 6, p. 10, § 3; Sept. 3, 1997, No. 110, § 5, eff. 30 days after Sept. 3, 1997.