All goods imported in a vessel as described in this chapter that shall be clandestinely landed or brought into any house, shop, or warehouse without a certificate and allowance as provided in § 23-9-19, or that shall be imported by land as provided in § 23-9-20 and not cleansed or aired by order of the city or town council, shall be forfeited; one-third (1/3) of those goods to the use of the state and two-thirds (2/3) to the use of the person who shall sue for the goods.
R.I. Gen. Laws § 23-9-21