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A pair of individuals have been detained as a component of an investigation into the illegal deposit of thousands of tonnes of refuse in a field in Oxfordshire, England.

Law enforcement indicated that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a property in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was arrested in the town of Slough in association with the enormous heap of waste dumped near Kidlington.

These detentions follow a previous revelation which exposed the existence of over 500 unlawful tips across England, encompassing at least 11 so-called "major sites" larger than 20,000 tonnes.

A official for the environment authorities said that the detentions were for environment-related and financial crimes and constituted a "crucial step" in ongoing inquiries. The apprehended men have been let go on pre-trial release.

Size of the Situation

The dump in the Kidlington area, positioned between the River Cherwell and the A34, is estimated to hold around 21,000 tons of refuse in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) tall.

This mound of rubbish is made up of what appears to be processed residential refuse, chopped up plastic materials, polystyrene, automobile tires and other household articles.

It constitutes just one example of 517 unauthorized sites in England, at a minimum of 11 of which are estimated to hold more than 20,000 metric tons of rubbish. Such sites feature a 280,000-tonne location in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in the county of Kent.

The overall number of such major dumps is probably to be larger, as the environmental agency has in the past acknowledged it does not possess data on tonnage for all unauthorized tip.

Most these sites are in rural areas, frequently hidden, and on land that is zoned as arable land.

Organised Enterprise

Police say numerous are run by criminal organizations, who are making money by charging far less than lawful operators to accept and bury rubbish.

Businesses have to incur site fees to use legitimate waste facilities, based on the amount and type of waste they are trying to dispose of, and a disposal levy is also applied at just over £126 per ton.

Community Outrage

Preparatory work to clear the Kidlington location commenced recently amid fears over the risk of combustion and the consequences that would have on the nearby highway.

A contracted waste removal contractor has been granted the contract to deal with the area over the following 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An compliance officer for the national environmental crime unit stated that the agency would be looking to recoup the remediation costs under proceeds of crime laws from anyone convicted at the end of its active inquiry.

She noted that this week's arrests would help "move the probe forward" and enable officials to "pursue more lines of inquiry to ascertain in detail what happened and who was implicated".

"The unlawful dump at this location was an shocking and intentional assault on our environment and the authorities share the local anger at this terrible offence," she stated.

A government official praised the actions, adding: "The illegal deposit of garbage at Kidlington is utterly appalling and has led to substantial damage to the environment and distress to the surrounding population.

"Our administration is committed to stamping out this type of criminality throughout the UK, by increasing resources to tackle waste crime, hiring more officers and introducing tougher checks and penalties for those who violate the regulations."

The apprehensions were executed on Thursday by agents from a regional organised crime unit and follow an earlier apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area in last November. He was released pending further inquiries.