Amber Heard Charged with Smuggling Dogs into Australia

Amber Heard has been charged with smuggling dogs into Australia.

The incident captured global attention after Australia’s agriculture minister angrily ordered the pooches to get out of the country or face death.

Johnny Depp’s wife was charged this week with two counts of illegally importing Pistol and Boo into Australia and one count of producing a false document, the Commonwealth Department of Public Prosecutions said on July 16.

The importation charges carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of 102,000 Australian dollars ($75,000). The false document charge, which relates to information on an incoming passenger card, carries a penalty of up to one year in prison and a fine of AU$10,200.

The scandal began in May, after Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce accused Johnny Depp, 52, of smuggling the couple’s Yorkshire terriers aboard his private jet when he returned to Australia to resume filming of the fifth movie in the Pirates of the Caribbean series.

Australia has strict quarantine regulations to prevent diseases such as rabies from spreading to its shores. Bringing pets into the country involves applying for a permit and quarantine on arrival of at least 10 days.