London ( CNN ) The operation guarding WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange , who is holed up in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London , is `` sucking our resources in , '' police say , as costs spiral to more than 10 million pounds ( $ 15.3 million ) . Metropolitan Police Commissioner Bernard Hogan-Howe says the operation is being reviewed , as there 's `` no doubt it 's a drain . '' Assange has been living in the embassy since June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden , where prosecutors want to question him about 2010 allegations that he raped one woman and sexually molested another . The Australian national has not been charged and denies the claims , saying he fears Sweden would extradite him to the United States , where he could face the death penalty if he is charged and convicted of publishing government secrets through WikiLeaks . On the operation to prevent Assange from fleeing the embassy , Hogan-Howe told LBC Radio that Metropolitan Police were looking at `` how we can do that differently in the future , because it 's sucking our resources in . '' Asked if that meant fewer officers stationed around the clock outside the embassy , Hogan-Howe added : `` We wo n't talk specifically about our tactics , but we are reviewing what options we have . '' The cost of providing a constant police presence ready to arrest Assange should he emerge from the embassy in Knightsbridge , central London , is estimated at 10 million pounds , a Scotland Yard spokesman told CNN . Assange has said the extradition warrant should be thrown out because , in part , Swedish authorities refuse to interview him at the Ecuadorian Embassy , thereby prolonging a preliminary investigation that he says should have concluded long ago . Assange rocketed to international fame when WikiLeaks began publishing secret government documents online . After it published the procedures manual for the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay , Cuba , in 2007 , it posted documents related to U.S. activities in Iraq and Afghanistan , and diplomatic cables from U.S. embassies . In August 2010 , Swedish prosecutors issued an arrest warrant for Assange over the allegations of sexual assault from two female WikiLeaks volunteers . He turned himself in to London authorities the same year , and was remanded in custody . At the time , a judge ruled that he should be extradited to Sweden , and Assange launched a series of appeals that went all the way to the British Supreme Court . It denied his appeal . In June 2012 , Assange fled to the Ecuadorian Embassy to seek asylum , which was granted in August of the same year . He 's been living at the embassy in London since then . Elaine Ly contributed to this report .
There 's an officer guarding WikiLeaks founder Julian Barnes at the Ecuadorian Embassy in London . Metropolitan Police Commissioner John Hogan - Howe says the operation is being reviewed , as there 's ` ` no doubt it 's a drain '' Assange has been in the UK since June 2012 to avoid extradition to Ecuador to answer to sex abuse claims .