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Two individuals have been taken into custody as an element of an investigation into the illegal deposit of thousands of metric tons of refuse in a open field in Oxfordshire.

Authorities reported that a 69-year-old was detained at a dwelling in Andover, Hampshire, while a man in his fifties was arrested in Slough in connection with the enormous pile of waste dumped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These detentions follow a prior report which uncovered the presence of more than 500 unlawful sites throughout England, including at least 11 so-called "large-scale sites" bigger than 20,000 metric tons.

A representative for the environmental authorities said that the arrests were for environment-related and money laundering crimes and represented a "key step" in ongoing probes. Both men have been let go on conditional release.

Size of the Situation

The tipping ground in near Kidlington, positioned between the Cherwell River and the A34 highway, is believed to contain around 21,000 tonnes of waste in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) tall.

This mound of garbage is consists of what looks to be processed household waste, fragmented plastics, expanded polystyrene, tires and assorted household items.

It is just one example of 517 unlawful dumps in England, at a minimum of 11 of which contain over 20,000 metric tons of rubbish. Such sites feature a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The overall amount of such major sites is likely to be higher, as the environmental agency has previously indicated it does not maintain data on weight for each unauthorized site.

The majority such locations are in agricultural areas, typically concealed, and on land that is intended to be agricultural property.

Organized Enterprise

Law enforcement state a significant number are operated by organised crime gangs, who are generating cash by asking for far less than lawful operators to accept and dispose of garbage.

Firms have to pay disposal fees to use lawful disposal sites, contingent on the quantity and nature of refuse they are trying to discard, and a disposal levy is also applied at just over £126 per tonne.

Public Frustration

Preparation efforts to clean up the Kidlington location began in recent weeks following fears over the threat of fire and the consequences that would have on the close-by highway.

A commercial clean-up contractor has been awarded the job to remediate the location over the coming 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An enforcement manager for the national regulatory division commented that the body would be looking to recover the remediation expenses under asset recovery legislation from anyone ultimately prosecuted at the termination of its ongoing case.

She noted that the recent arrests would help "push the probe forward" and enable officials to "follow more leads to determine exactly what happened and who was implicated".

"This unauthorized dump at Kidlington was an shocking and intentional attack on our ecology and officials share the public's anger at this terrible act," she remarked.

A senior minister welcomed the arrests, commenting: "This illegal tipping of rubbish at the site is disgraceful and has resulted in substantial detriment to the environment and distress to the nearby population.

"Our authorities is dedicated to eliminating this kind of criminality in the nation, by augmenting resources to tackle environmental crime, recruiting more personnel and introducing more severe measures and sanctions for those who break the regulations."

The apprehensions were made on Thursday by officers from a regional organised crime unit and are in addition to an earlier apprehension of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area region in the autumn. He was set free awaiting additional enquiries.