London - The security bill for preventing the early release of the seventh and final book in the Harry Potter series due out Saturday is 10 million pounds (20.3 million dollars), Britain's Sunday Telegraph reported on Sunday. Publishers Bloomsbury have rented properties in London to store the freshly printed copies of the eagerly awaited novel and have put in place an operation "featuring an army of guards, satellite tracking systems and draconian legal contracts," the newspaper reported.
The trucks that from Tuesday are due to move the books to the booksellers have been fitted with satellite tracking systems which shows when a vehicle deviates from its scheduled route.
The books are being transported on sealed and alarmed pallets.
The book, entitled Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, is launched shortly after midnight on July 21.
Speculation has been rife whether author JK Rowling has killed off her hero, boy wizard Harry Potter, in the final book in the series.
So far, only Rowling and 20 others - illustrators, editors and continuity experts - know the book's ending.
Tabloid newspaper The Sun speculated on Saturday that Harry Potter might commit suicide in the book. The newspaper reported that bets were being placed on the eventuality, with bookmakers William Hill reducing the odds from 33-1 to odds on.
Warner Bros, which produces the Harry Potter films, has found a successor to the boy wizard: the company plans to turn the seven- volume fantasy series, Septimus Heap by Angie Sage, into films, the Sunday Times reported.
