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A pair of individuals have been detained as an element of an inquiry into the dumping of many thousands of tons of waste in a open field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Authorities indicated that a 69-year-old was arrested at a residence in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was detained in Slough in connection with the massive heap of rubbish tipped near Kidlington.

These arrests follow a recent revelation which uncovered the operation of more than 500 unauthorized sites in England, encompassing at least 11 so-called "major sites" larger than 20,000 tons.

A official for the environment authorities commented that the detentions were for environment-related and proceeds of crime crimes and represented a "key step" in active investigations. The apprehended men have been let go on bail.

Size of the Situation

The illegal site in near Kidlington, positioned between the river Cherwell and the A34, is estimated to house around 21,000 tons of refuse in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) tall.

This heap of garbage is consists of what seems to be treated residential refuse, fragmented plastic items, Styrofoam, tires and various household objects.

It constitutes just one of 517 unlawful dumps across England, at a minimum of 11 of which hold more than 20,000 metric tons of garbage. They include a 280,000-tonne location in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The overall amount of such larger sites is likely to be larger, as the environmental body has previously acknowledged it does not hold records on weight for all illegal tip.

A large proportion of sites are in rural locations, often concealed, and on land that is zoned as agricultural property.

Organized Activity

Authorities report numerous are managed by organised crime gangs, who are generating cash by asking for far less than legitimate operators to take and landfill garbage.

Businesses have to be liable for gate fees to use lawful landfill sites, contingent on the amount and category of waste they are trying to discard, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Local Outrage

Preparation operations to clear the Kidlington dump started recently due to concerns over the risk of combustion and the consequences that would have on the nearby highway.

A commercial waste clearance firm has been given the contract to deal with the site over the following 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An investigations manager for the country's regulatory unit commented that the agency would be seeking to recoup the clean-up funds under asset recovery acts from any party successfully found guilty at the conclusion of its ongoing investigation.

She added that these detentions would help "drive the probe forward" and permit authorities to "investigate more avenues to ascertain precisely what transpired and who was implicated".

"The unauthorized dump at Kidlington was an shocking and intentional attack on our natural surroundings and we understand the public's anger at this horrific crime," she remarked.

A senior official welcomed the detentions, stating: "This illegal tipping of rubbish at Kidlington is disgraceful and has led to significant detriment to the ecology and upset to the surrounding community.

"Our administration is committed to stamping out this category of crime in the country, by boosting funds to address waste crime, employing more personnel and introducing more severe measures and penalties for those who break the law."

The apprehensions were made on a recent Thursday by agents from a specialist crime unit and follow an prior apprehension of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area in November. He was released awaiting additional enquiries.