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Two individuals have been arrested as a component of an inquiry into the illegal deposit of many thousands of metric tons of rubbish in a field in Oxfordshire, England.

Officials stated that a man in his late sixties was apprehended at a residence in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was detained in Slough in relation with the huge heap of waste dumped near the area of Kidlington.

These detentions occur a week after a prior report which exposed the existence of over 500 illegal dumps in the country of England, encompassing at least 11 so-called "super sites" bigger than 20,000 tons.

A official for the environment agency said that the apprehensions were for ecological and proceeds of crime violations and represented a "key step" in active investigations. The apprehended men have been released on pre-trial release.

Magnitude of the Problem

The dump in near Kidlington, situated between the River Cherwell and the A34 road, is thought to contain around 21,000 tons of rubbish in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) in height.

This mound of rubbish is consists of what appears to be sorted household refuse, shredded plastic items, expanded polystyrene, automobile tires and other domestic articles.

It constitutes just a single of 517 illegal sites across England, at minimum 11 of which are estimated to hold more than 20,000 tons of garbage. They feature a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire county and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The actual amount of such larger locations is expected to be larger, as the environmental body has in the past indicated it does not maintain data on tonnage for every unlawful dump.

Most sites are in rural settings, frequently out of sight, and on land that should be arable land.

Criminal Enterprise

Police say numerous are run by criminal organizations, who are earning cash by demanding far less than lawful firms to take and dispose of rubbish.

Firms have to be liable for site fees to use licensed waste facilities, contingent on the volume and type of waste they are trying to discard, and a disposal levy is also charged at just over £126 per metric ton.

Local Outrage

Initial operations to clear the Kidlington area location began recently following concerns over the threat of combustion and the impact that would have on the close-by major road.

A private waste clearance company has been awarded the task to remediate the site over the coming 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An compliance official for the country's environmental crime unit commented that the body would be looking to recover the clearance funds under asset recovery legislation from anyone successfully prosecuted at the termination of its current investigation.

She added that this week's apprehensions would help "drive the probe forward" and enable officials to "investigate more leads to determine in detail what happened and who was involved".

"The unlawful dump at this location was an shocking and calculated affront on our natural surroundings and we share the local outrage at this horrific offence," she said.

A senior official praised the detentions, stating: "This unauthorized deposit of rubbish at the site is utterly appalling and has resulted in substantial damage to the ecology and distress to the local population.

"Our authorities is pledged to eradicating this type of crime in the nation, by increasing resources to address illegal dumping, employing more personnel and introducing stricter measures and fines for those who flout the regulations."

The arrests were made on the specified day by agents from a specialist serious crime squad and come after an previous apprehension of a man in his thirties from the Surrey area in the autumn. He was let go pending more enquiries.