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Two individuals have been taken into custody as a component of an investigation into the tipping of many thousands of tonnes of waste in a field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Officials stated that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a property in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in the town of Slough in connection with the enormous mound of garbage dumped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These arrests follow a recent report which exposed the operation of in excess of 500 illegal sites throughout England, featuring at least 11 so-called "super sites" larger than 20,000 tonnes.

A official for the regulatory agency stated that the apprehensions were for environment-related and financial crimes and represented a "crucial step" in ongoing probes. The apprehended men have been released on pre-trial release.

Size of the Issue

The dump in Kidlington, situated between the Cherwell River and the A34 highway, is estimated to hold approximately 21,000 metric tons of waste in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) high.

This heap of garbage is consists of what looks to be sorted residential waste, chopped up plastics, expanded polystyrene, automobile tires and various everyday articles.

It represents just a single of 517 illegal dumps in England, at minimum 11 of which contain in excess of 20,000 tons of waste. Such sites include a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire county and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The actual number of such bigger locations is likely to be larger, as the regulatory agency has previously stated it does not possess records on volume for all illegal dump.

A large proportion of such locations are in rural areas, often out of sight, and on land that is intended to be arable land.

Organised Activity

Law enforcement report a significant number are operated by organized crime groups, who are generating cash by demanding significantly less than lawful operators to take and bury garbage.

Companies have to incur site fees to use licensed landfill sites, contingent on the amount and type of refuse they are trying to get rid of, and landfill tax is also charged at just over £126 per tonne.

Community Outrage

Preparatory operations to clean up the affected dump commenced in recent weeks due to fears over the threat of blaze and the effect that would have on the nearby highway.

A commercial waste removal firm has been given the job to handle the location over the following 12 months period at a expense of £9.6m.

An investigations manager for the national regulatory team said that the authority would be aiming to recoup the clearance funds under asset recovery legislation from any party prosecuted at the conclusion of its ongoing inquiry.

She noted that these apprehensions would help "push the investigation forward" and permit officials to "investigate more leads to determine exactly what occurred and who was involved".

"The illegal site at this location was an appalling and deliberate assault on our natural surroundings and officials share the community's anger at this terrible act," she stated.

A cabinet representative praised the detentions, adding: "This unlawful dumping of rubbish at the site is disgraceful and has resulted in considerable harm to the ecology and distress to the local residents.

"The authorities is committed to eradicating this type of illegal activity across the country, by increasing financing to address environmental crime, hiring more personnel and enacting more severe checks and penalties for those who violate the rules."

The detentions were carried out on the specified day by agents from a regional serious crime unit and are in addition to an earlier detention of a man in his thirties from the Guildford region in November. He was set free pending additional enquiries.