Johnny Depp's wife, Amber Heard, has been charged with illegally bringing the couple's dogs in to Australia - an offence which carries a prison sentence of up to 10 years.

She faces two counts of illegally importing Yorkshire terriers Pistol and Boo and one count of producing a false document, according to the Commonwealth Department of Public Prosecutions.

The 'tail' began in May when Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce accused Depp (52) of smuggling the dogs aboard his private jet when he returned to Australia to resume filming the fifth movie in the Pirates Of The Caribbean series.

He said at the time: "If we start letting movie stars - even though they've been the sexiest man alive twice - to come into our nation (with pets), then why don't we just break the laws for everybody?" It's time Pistol and Boo b******* off back to the United States."

Australia has strict quarantine regulations to prevent diseases such as rabies from spreading to its shores.

Importation charges carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of AUD$102,000 (€69,173).

The false document charge, which relates to information on an incoming passenger card, carries a penalty of up to a year in prison and a fine of AUD$10,200 (€6,916).

The couple were given three days to send the dogs back to the US or the pets would be put down.

Just hours before the deadline, a Department of Agriculture officer escorted the terriers from the couple's mansion on Queensland's Gold Coast to the airport, where the dogs were put on a flight to the US.

Joyce's comments were parodied worldwide, prompted a petition to save Pistol and Boo and sparked the social media hashtag #WarOnTerrier.

Asked about the charges during an interview, Joyce suggested Heard would not be getting any special treatment.

"You, I, everybody - we're equal before the law," he said.

The prosecutor's office would not answer questions about why Depp was not charged, citing the ongoing nature of the case.

Heard (29) has been summonsed to appear in a Queensland court on September 7th.

In an interview last month, the actress said she and Depp planned to avoid Australia as much as possible in the future "thanks to certain politicians there".