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- Jul 20, 2002
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In a crime worthy of Voldemort himself, two men were caught yesterday attempting to spill the beans on the eagerly awaited next instalment of the adventures of Harry Potter.
They were arrested after shots were fired during a meeting in which it is believed they were trying to sell stolen copies of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth book in J K Rowling's best-selling series.
The book, which is published on July 16, has sparked massive interest since the author's revelation that a major character would be killed off.
Bookmakers were forced to suspend betting on the victim's identity late last month amid fears that the manuscript had been leaked.
Yesterday, the plot thickened in true J K Rowling fashion when the police received reports of gunfire on a street in Kettering, Northamptonshire, where a reporter and photographer from the Sun newspaper had met two men allegedly purporting to have copies of stolen volumes for sale.
The reporter John Askill, had apparently arranged a meeting with the men after they claimed to have a copy of the book for sale for a five figure sum.
Sources at the newspaper said shots were fired over Askill's head after he grabbed the novel and tried to escape.
Police confirmed that two men, aged 37 and 19, were arrested on suspicion of theft and firearms offences.
A spokesman said: "Two books were recovered and they are currently being held in secure circumstances by Northamptonshire Police."
Spokesmen for the Sun and the Daily Mirror said both had been contacted by someone claiming to have the new book. Both papers said they had planned to meet the man to make sure that the books were returned to the publishers.
Security surrounding the latest book is extremely tight. According to reports last week, 40 guards backed by CCTV cameras have been brought in to scan production lines at a secret Potter plant in the former East Germany.
maximus otter
They were arrested after shots were fired during a meeting in which it is believed they were trying to sell stolen copies of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth book in J K Rowling's best-selling series.
The book, which is published on July 16, has sparked massive interest since the author's revelation that a major character would be killed off.
Bookmakers were forced to suspend betting on the victim's identity late last month amid fears that the manuscript had been leaked.
Yesterday, the plot thickened in true J K Rowling fashion when the police received reports of gunfire on a street in Kettering, Northamptonshire, where a reporter and photographer from the Sun newspaper had met two men allegedly purporting to have copies of stolen volumes for sale.
The reporter John Askill, had apparently arranged a meeting with the men after they claimed to have a copy of the book for sale for a five figure sum.
Sources at the newspaper said shots were fired over Askill's head after he grabbed the novel and tried to escape.
Police confirmed that two men, aged 37 and 19, were arrested on suspicion of theft and firearms offences.
A spokesman said: "Two books were recovered and they are currently being held in secure circumstances by Northamptonshire Police."
Spokesmen for the Sun and the Daily Mirror said both had been contacted by someone claiming to have the new book. Both papers said they had planned to meet the man to make sure that the books were returned to the publishers.
Security surrounding the latest book is extremely tight. According to reports last week, 40 guards backed by CCTV cameras have been brought in to scan production lines at a secret Potter plant in the former East Germany.
maximus otter
) Anyway, the latter books are well worth suffering through the first two.
