Amber Heard charged for illegally bringing her and Johnny Depp's dogs into Australia

 
Charged: Amber Heard with Johnny Depp (Picture: Getty)
YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/Getty
Emma Powell16 July 2015
The Weekender

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Actress Amber Heard has been charged for illegally bringing her and husband Johnny Depp’s two dogs into Australia.

Heard, 29, was charged with two counts of illegally importing Yorkshire Terriers Pistol and Boo and one count of producing a false document, the Commonwealth Department of Public Prosecutions said.

The offence carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of 102,000 Australian dollars (£48,000).

In May the dogs made international headlines after Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce accused Heard and Depp – who was in Australia to film the latest Pirates of the Caribbean instalment – of illegally bringing the pets into the country by private jet.

They were discovered after a picture surfaced of them on Facebook.

Joyce gave the Hollywood couple an ultimatum: remove the dogs within 72 hours or they face the death sentence.

Speaking on ABC at the time Joyce said: “If we start letting movie stars – even though they’ve been the sexiest man alive twice – to come into our nation [and break the laws], then why don’t we just break the laws for everybody?”

Heard then flew the dogs out of the country by private jet within the allotted time period.

The Rum Diary actress last month spoke out about the incident and said that she and Depp would be avoiding the country.

“I have a feeling we're going to avoid the land Down Under from now on, just as much as we can. Just to avoid certain politicians there,” she told Australia's Channel 7 network.

She also suggested that Joyce was chasing fame by pursuing the Hollywood couple.

“I don't know, I guess everyone tries to go for their 15 minutes, including some government officials,” she said.

The case is due to be heard in a Queensland court on September 7.

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