Seizure of illegal transportation devices; disposition; appraisal; forfeiture.

(1) Any vehicle, vessel, or other transportation device used in the commission of the offense prohibited by s. 379.406, except a vehicle, vessel, or other transportation device duly registered as a common carrier and operated in lawful transaction of business as such carrier, shall be seized by the arresting officer, who shall promptly make return of the seizure and deliver the property to the director of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The return shall describe the property seized and recite in detail the facts and circumstances under which it was seized, together with the reason that the property was subject to seizure. The return shall also contain the names of all persons known to the officer to be interested in the property.

(2) The commission, upon receipt of the property, shall promptly fix its value and make return thereof to the clerk of the circuit court of the county wherein the article was seized; after which, on proper showing of ownership of the property by someone other than the person arrested, the property shall be returned by the court to the said owner.

(3) Upon conviction of the violator, the property, if owned by the person convicted, shall be forfeited to the state under the procedure set forth in ss. 379.337 and 379.362, when not inconsistent with this section. All amounts received from the sale or other disposition of the property shall be paid into the State Game Trust Fund. If the property is not sold or converted, it shall be delivered to the director of the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.