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Two individuals have been arrested as an element of an probe into the dumping of thousands of tons of rubbish in a field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Officials stated that a man in his late sixties was arrested at a property in the town of Andover, while a man in his fifties was detained in the town of Slough in connection with the enormous pile of garbage tipped near the area of Kidlington.

These detentions come after a previous investigation which exposed the operation of in excess of 500 unauthorized sites across England, including at a minimum of 11 so-called "large-scale sites" larger than 20,000 tonnes.

A official for the regulatory authorities stated that the detentions were for ecological and proceeds of crime offences and represented a "vital step" in continuing inquiries. Both men have been let go on bail.

Scale of the Issue

The illegal site in near Kidlington, situated between the river Cherwell and the A34 road, is believed to contain approximately 21,000 tonnes of waste in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) tall.

This heap of garbage is composed of what appears to be sorted domestic rubbish, chopped up plastic materials, polystyrene, tyres and assorted domestic articles.

It represents just one example of 517 illegal tips in England, at least 11 of which contain in excess of 20,000 metric tons of waste. They encompass a 280,000-tonne location in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in the county of Kent.

The actual figure of such major dumps is expected to be higher, as the environment authority has previously stated it does not possess data on weight for every illegal site.

The majority these sites are in agricultural settings, frequently hidden, and on land that is zoned as arable ground.

Organized Activity

Law enforcement state numerous are managed by criminal organizations, who are generating profit by demanding far less than legitimate firms to receive and bury rubbish.

Firms have to pay site fees to use lawful disposal sites, contingent on the amount and category of waste they are trying to get rid of, and landfill tax is also charged at just over £126 per metric ton.

Public Outrage

Preparation work to remove the affected dump commenced earlier this month amid fears over the threat of blaze and the impact that would have on the adjacent A-road.

A private waste clearance company has been given the task to remediate the area over the following 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An investigations manager for the national environmental crime team stated that the agency would be looking to recoup the remediation funds under confiscation laws from any individual found guilty at the termination of its ongoing case.

She further stated that these detentions would help "move the probe forward" and allow officials to "pursue more avenues to ascertain exactly what transpired and who was involved".

"This unauthorized dump at Kidlington was an appalling and calculated assault on our natural surroundings and the authorities share the community's outrage at this terrible act," she stated.

A government minister praised the actions, stating: "This unlawful dumping of waste at the site is disgraceful and has led to significant detriment to the ecology and anguish to the local community.

"Our authorities is committed to stamping out this kind of illegal activity in the nation, by augmenting funds to combat illegal dumping, recruiting more personnel and introducing tougher measures and fines for those who violate the rules."

The apprehensions were executed on the specified day by personnel from a specialist crime team and are in addition to an previous detention of a 39-year-old from the Guildford region in November. He was let go awaiting additional enquiries.