Two men charged over the alleged theft of the latest Harry Potter book will appear in court next week after details of the eagerly anticipated new novel were allegedly offered to two national newspapers.
The two men, aged 19 and 37, were charged on Friday night after police acting on a tip-off from the Daily Mirror staged an armed operation to recover the books.
Both were released on bail until June 13 when they will appear before magistrates in Kettering, Northamptonshire.
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, the sixth edition of the best-selling book, is being published in Germany under tight security, and will not be released until July 16.
The 37-year-old, from Kettering, was charged with possession of an offensive weapon and with handling a stolen book.
The 19-year-old is accused of theft and possession of an imitation firearm with intent to cause fear of violence.
Police were tipped off about the possible theft of the books after the Mirror met with two men at a flat in Kettering and spotted what appeared to be a gun on display.
But what officers waiting outside the man's flat didn't know was that Sun journalist John Askill had also arranged a meeting with the pair after they reportedly approached the paper asking for "at least" £50,000 in exchange for details about the plot of the novel.
Askill has told how one of the men fired a shot over his head while another threatened him with an iron bar after he tried to grab a copy of the book without handing over any money.
After details of the alleged theft emerged last week Harry Potter author JK Rowling won a high court injunction to stop the two men leaking details of her eagerly awaited latest book.
Both newspapers have stressed that they never intended to reveal what happens in the new book, but aimed to retrieve the allegedly stolen copies and hand them over to police.
But the book's publisher, Bloomsbury, is taking no chances. One printing plant in Germany has already been placed under strict security, with a team of 40 employed to stop the manuscript leaving the building.
According to the Mirror, one of the men boasted how he allegedly evaded massive security at the book warehouse where he worked.
"It was very hard," the paper quoted him as saying. "They've even got foreign contract workers in there so the staff don't know what it's all about. The whole warehouse is on camera."
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