Bringing Boo and Pistol to Australia could end up being a costly mistake for Depp.
Johnny Depp could be facing a lengthly prison sentence in Australia, after illegally bringing his two dogs into the country last month. The actor broke Australia’s strict quarantine laws when he flew in the Yorkshire terriers on his private jet in April and failed to declare them to officials.
Depp has been filming the latest Pirates of the Caribbean movie in Australia.
On Monday an Australian Senate committee was told that if the matter goes to court and Depp is found guilty, he could face up to 10 years in prison or a maximum fine of $265,000. But it’s not just Depp who’s in hot water, the jet’s pilot is also facing up to two years behind bars, for his involvement in the situation.
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At the senate meeting Agriculture Department officials answered questions from the committee, who were trying to establish how the dogs ended up being let into the country in the first place. Acording to The Sydney Morning Herald, one committee member referred to the incident as, “a complete balls up.”
An ongoing investigation has so far found that the two dogs, named Boo and Pistol, were not found when customs officers boarded the aircraft before the passengers disembarked. Instead the terriers were discovered when photos of them at a dog grooming salon appeared on social media.
When the dogs were found the country’s agriculture minister Barnaby Joyce, threatened to have them put down unless they were flown out of the country within 50 hours. Speaking to Australia's ABC radio at the time of the incident, minister Joyce explained "There is a process if you want to bring animals: you get the permits, they go into quarantine and then you can have them.”
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“But 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?” Depp did comply with Joyce’s request and the two dogs were subsequently flown back to the actor’s home in California.
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