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A pair of individuals have been taken into custody as part of an inquiry into the dumping of thousands of metric tons of waste in a open field in Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement indicated that a 69-year-old was arrested at a property in Andover, Hampshire, while a man in his fifties was taken into custody in Slough in association with the huge mound of waste tipped near the area of Kidlington.

These arrests follow a recent investigation which exposed the operation of in excess of 500 illegal tips throughout England, featuring at minimum 11 so-called "major sites" greater than 20,000 metric tons.

A official for the environmental body commented that the detentions were for environmental and financial violations and constituted a "crucial step" in continuing investigations. The apprehended men have been released on conditional release.

Size of the Problem

The illegal site in Kidlington, located between the River Cherwell and the A34, is estimated to hold approximately 21,000 tonnes of refuse in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) tall.

This mound of waste is consists of what appears to be sorted household refuse, shredded plastic materials, polystyrene, tyres and assorted domestic articles.

It is just a single of 517 unauthorized dumps in the country, at least 11 of which contain more than 20,000 tons of garbage. They include a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire county and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The actual amount of such bigger sites is expected to be greater, as the regulatory authority has earlier acknowledged it does not maintain records on tonnage for all unlawful site.

Most sites are in countryside areas, often out of sight, and on land that is zoned as arable property.

Organised Activity

Authorities report numerous are managed by criminal organizations, who are making cash by demanding much less than licensed operators to accept and dispose of rubbish.

Companies have to be liable for site fees to use legitimate waste facilities, depending on the quantity and nature of refuse they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Community Outrage

Preparation efforts to remove the affected dump commenced in recent weeks due to worries over the potential of blaze and the impact that would have on the nearby A-road.

A commercial clean-up firm has been granted the task to deal with the location over the next 12 months period at a expense of £9.6m.

An investigations manager for the country's environmental crime team said that the agency would be seeking to recoup the remediation expenses under proceeds of crime acts from any party successfully prosecuted at the conclusion of its current inquiry.

She further stated that this week's arrests would help "push the probe forward" and allow the agency to "investigate more lines of inquiry to understand precisely what transpired and who was a party to it".

"The unlawful dump at the site was an shocking and calculated attack on our environment and the authorities share the public's anger at this horrific offence," she remarked.

A government official supported the arrests, commenting: "This illegal deposit of garbage at this location is disgraceful and has resulted in considerable detriment to the environment and anguish to the local residents.

"Our government is pledged to eradicating this category of crime throughout the country, by increasing financing to combat environmental crime, hiring more officers and enacting more severe controls and fines for those who violate the regulations."

The detentions were carried out on a recent Thursday by agents from a dedicated organised crime squad and are in addition to an prior detention of a man in his thirties from the Surrey area in the autumn. He was set free pending more inquiries.