12 h, dec 14, 2015 y - AUSTRALIA DOG SMUGGLING COURT DATE SET Amber Heard REQUIRED TO ATTEND

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NOTE: The news broke in the UK around midnight with the very first media reports carrying the date 14 December, this means the news would have reached the media early afternoon LA time. However, Amber Heard would have received the news via her legal representation which would have been directly after the hearing in Australia. However once the news broke it rippled around the world for the following few days.



Johnny Depp's wife Amber Heard will face court in April charged with illegally smuggling pet Yorkshire terriers Pistol and Boo into Australia by private jet.

The actress, 29, will stand trial on the Gold Coast in 2016 and the Pirates of the Caribbean star could possibly appear as a witness, according to reports.

Heard has been charged with breaching Australia's quarantine laws and she will face two counts of knowingly importing a prohibited product into the country.

The trial has been set down for April 18 at Southport Magistrates Court in Queensland state with a court official telling AFP the actress was required to appear at the hearing.

At least 12 witnesses are listed to give evidence but it is not yet known whether Depp is one of them.

Under strict Australian laws designed to keep disease at bay, dogs entering from the United States must be declared and have to spend 10 days in quarantine.

Penalties for contravening the Quarantine Act range from fines to a maximum of 10 years in prison for the worst cases.

The case sparked global attention after Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce said the dogs might be put down unless they 'buggered off back to the United States'

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