DHAKA (Reuters Life!) - Police in Bangladesh have seized a large number of pirated copies of the final book in the Harry Potter series, detaining some sellers, a police officer said on Wednesday.

"The detective branch of police confiscated a large number of pirated copies of Harry Potter and arrested three people in this connection," said Golam Kibria, a police officer in the capital Dhaka.

The crackdown prompted shops and vendors to stop selling Harry Potter books in city markets and on the streets, where boys and girls have been touting them to customers at traffic lights.

Pirated copies of previous editions in the Harry Potter series flooded Dhaka and other cities across Bangladesh, but their sale was never prohibited.

Police said they launched the crackdown following a request from companies which had legally imported copies of "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows".

"Abundant availability of the cheaper pirated copies has badly hit our business," said a book seller at Dhaka's New Market.

A Harry Potter book costs 1,545 taka ($23) in Bangladesh, while pirated copies were being sold for as little as 300 taka ($4.5).

The seventh and final volume in the Harry Potter series, authored by British writer J. K. Rowling, has become the fastest selling book in the history.