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Two men have been detained as an element of an probe into the illegal deposit of many thousands of metric tons of refuse in a field in Oxfordshire.

Authorities stated that a man in his late sixties was arrested at a residence in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was detained in Slough in connection with the huge heap of rubbish deposited near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These arrests occur a week after a recent investigation which exposed the existence of in excess of 500 unauthorized sites across England, featuring at minimum 11 so-called "large-scale sites" bigger than 20,000 tonnes.

A official for the regulatory agency said that the arrests were for environment-related and financial crimes and were a "crucial step" in ongoing investigations. The two individuals have been released on pre-trial release.

Scale of the Situation

The tipping ground in near Kidlington, positioned between the Cherwell River and the A34 highway, is estimated to house approximately 21,000 tons of refuse in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) tall.

This mound of rubbish is composed of what seems to be sorted residential rubbish, fragmented plastic materials, polystyrene, automobile tires and other everyday items.

It constitutes just one example of 517 unlawful dumps throughout the country, at minimum 11 of which are estimated to hold in excess of 20,000 tonnes of waste. They feature a 280,000-tonne site in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The overall number of such major dumps is probably to be greater, as the regulatory body has earlier acknowledged it does not possess records on volume for each illegal site.

The majority these sites are in countryside settings, often out of sight, and on land that should be arable property.

Organized Activity

Law enforcement say numerous are run by organised crime gangs, who are making profit by charging much less than licensed companies to accept and landfill garbage.

Companies have to incur gate fees to use licensed waste facilities, contingent on the amount and category of refuse they are trying to dispose of, and landfill tax is also charged at just over £126 per tonne.

Local Frustration

Initial efforts to remove the affected site started earlier this month following fears over the risk of fire and the effect that would have on the adjacent highway.

A private clean-up contractor has been given the contract to remediate the location over the next 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An compliance officer for the country's environmental crime team said that the agency would be aiming to recoup the clearance expenses under proceeds of crime acts from any individual ultimately found guilty at the termination of its current case.

She further stated that these apprehensions would help "drive the inquiry forward" and enable officials to "follow more leads to determine precisely what transpired and who was a party to it".

"The unlawful tip at this location was an atrocious and calculated affront on our environment and officials understand the community's frustration at this egregious act," she remarked.

A cabinet official supported the detentions, adding: "This unlawful deposit of waste at Kidlington is disgraceful and has resulted in substantial damage to the natural world and distress to the surrounding residents.

"Our administration is committed to eradicating this category of illegal activity across the country, by boosting resources to tackle environmental crime, recruiting more personnel and implementing stricter measures and fines for those who flout the law."

The detentions were carried out on the specified day by agents from a specialist organised crime team and follow an previous arrest of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area in November. He was let go awaiting further investigations.