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A pair of individuals have been taken into custody as part of an inquiry into the illegal deposit of many thousands of tons of refuse in a rural field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Authorities stated that a man in his late sixties was detained at a property in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was arrested in Slough, Berkshire in relation with the enormous heap of waste dumped near the area of Kidlington.

These apprehensions follow a previous report which revealed the operation of more than 500 illegal dumps in England, encompassing at a minimum of 11 so-called "major sites" greater than 20,000 tons.

A representative for the environment body stated that the arrests were for environment-related and financial offences and represented a "key step" in continuing inquiries. The two individuals have been let go on pre-trial release.

Scale of the Issue

The illegal site in the Kidlington area, positioned between the River Cherwell and the A34, is believed to contain approximately 21,000 metric tons of rubbish in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) high.

This pile of garbage is composed of what appears to be processed domestic refuse, chopped up plastic items, polystyrene, automobile tires and various household objects.

It represents just a single of 517 unlawful sites across England, at least 11 of which hold in excess of 20,000 tonnes of waste. These 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 number of such bigger sites is likely to be greater, as the environment body has in the past stated it does not hold records on weight for every unlawful tip.

A large proportion of these sites are in rural areas, typically hidden, and on land that is zoned as agricultural property.

Criminal Activity

Police state numerous are run by organised crime gangs, who are generating profit by demanding significantly less than licensed operators to accept and bury garbage.

Businesses have to be liable for gate fees to use licensed disposal sites, contingent on the amount and type of material they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also charged at just over £126 per ton.

Local Outrage

Preparatory operations to remove the Kidlington location commenced in recent weeks due to worries over the threat of blaze and the impact that would have on the adjacent highway.

A commercial waste clearance firm has been granted the task to remediate the site over the coming 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An investigations manager for the national regulatory division stated that the authority would be aiming to recover the clean-up costs under confiscation acts from anyone ultimately convicted at the conclusion of its ongoing investigation.

She further stated that the recent arrests would help "drive the investigation forward" and enable authorities to "pursue more lines of inquiry to understand precisely what transpired and who was implicated".

"The illegal tip at this location was an shocking and intentional affront on our natural surroundings and we share the public's anger at this horrific act," she remarked.

A cabinet minister praised the actions, adding: "The unlawful dumping of waste at the site is utterly appalling and has resulted in considerable detriment to the ecology and upset to the local community.

"Our authorities is pledged to stamping out this type of illegal activity in the country, by augmenting resources to address waste crime, employing more personnel and introducing stricter controls and penalties for those who flout the rules."

The detentions were carried out on Thursday by personnel from a specialist crime team and follow an previous detention of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area region in the autumn. He was let go subject to more inquiries.