Johnny Depp Could Face Up To 10 Years In Prison For Dog Smuggling

When we first heard about Johnny Depp getting in trouble for bringing his dogs to Australia, we honestly thought it was a little bit funny. It sounds like a silly situation, but surprisingly it’s turning out to be a pretty serious situation for the actor.

You see, Depp had been filming Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales in Queensland before injuring his hand and flying back to the U.S. to have surgery in March. When he returned to Australia in a private jet, Depp did not declare his Yorkshire Terriers, which violated the country’s quarantine laws.

The animals weren’t discovered inside the country until they were taken to a local groomer. Barnaby Joyce, Minister for Agriculture, threatened to have the poor dogs euthanized unless they were transported out of the country within 50 hours. Depp put his dogs back on the next flight to California.

During an interview with ABC radio, Joyce said the following…

There is a process if you want to bring animals: you get the permits, they go into quarantine and then you can have them. 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.

And they are extremely serious about this sh-t. According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the actor could face up to 10 years in prison and be slapped with a $340,000 fine. Of course, this is only if the matter goes to court.

Depp hasn’t commented on the situation, but we have to imagine he’ll be a bit more careful next time.