Amber Heard to Plead Not Guilty to Illegally Importing Dogs Into Australia

Getty Images

The saga surrounding Johnny Depp and Amber Heard's dogs continues...

Amber Heard's dog saga continues...

The 29-year-old actress plans to plead not guilty to illegally importing her and husband Johnny Depp's pets into Australia this past May.

WATCH: Amber Heard Charged With Smuggling Her and Johnny Depp's Dogs Into Australia

"Whilst I am unable to comment on the specific matters before the Court I would like to say that I respect the importance of Australia's laws, my decision to defend these charges, as will become apparent in the appropriate forum of the Court, is not intended in any way to diminish the importance of Australia's laws," the actress said in a statement released by her lawyer, NBC News reports.

Due to Australia's strict biosecurity laws, Heard's illegal importation charges carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $75,000 fine, while the false document charge carries a penalty of a year in prison and a fine of $7,500.

"Everything in Australia, we absolutely enforce and make sure people understand ... a lot of things we're easy-going about, but we're not easy-going about biosecurity," Barnaby Joyce , Australian Agriculture Minister, said at a news conference in July. "We're deadly serious about it.

Depp addressed the issue in September, saying, "We were under the impression we had all the paperwork done for the dogs."

WATCH: Amber Heard and Johnny Depp's Dogs Are Back on American Soil: 'They're Fine'

"We were there with the dogs in front of everybody," he added during an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, insisting that if his significant other faced jail time, "I'd just fly to Australia and assault that man [Joyce], so that I could go to jail."

WATCH: Johnny Depp Responds to Australia Dog Smuggling Drama: I'll Assault That Man If They Send My Wife to Jail

ET spoke with Heard in July, who confirmed that the couple's dogs -- Pistol and Boo -- were OK despite "attempts by certain rogue thug Australian government officials," referring to a warning from the Australian government that the dogs would be euthanized if they were not removed from the country.

Watch the video below.