(a) Not later than three whole days after executing a search warrant, the officer shall return the search warrant. Upon returning the search warrant, the officer shall state on the back of the same, or on some paper attached to it, the manner in which the warrant has been executed. The officer shall also deliver to the magistrate a copy of the inventory of the property taken into his possession under the warrant. The failure of an officer to make a timely return of an executed search warrant or to submit an inventory of the property taken into the officer’s possession under the warrant does not bar the admission of evidence under Article 38.23. The officer who seized the property shall retain custody of it until the magistrate issues an order directing the manner of safekeeping the property. Except as otherwise provided by Subsection (b), the property may not be removed from the county in which it was seized without an order approving the removal, issued by a magistrate in the county in which the warrant was issued; provided, however, nothing herein shall prevent the officer, or his department, from forwarding any item or items seized to a laboratory for scientific analysis.

(b) For the purposes of complying with this article, property seized pursuant to a warrant executed under Article 18.067 may be removed from the county in which it was seized and returned to the county in which the warrant was issued without a court order.