New Mexico Statutes Chapter 31. Criminal Procedure § 31-27-3. Definitions

A. “abandoned 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 and that are possessed without a valid prescription;

D. “conveyance” means a device used for transportation and:

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”:

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.