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A pair of individuals have been taken into custody as an element of an investigation into the dumping of many thousands of metric tons of refuse in a open field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Officials stated that a man in his late sixties was detained at a property in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in Slough, Berkshire in relation with the massive mound of garbage deposited near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These arrests follow a prior investigation which revealed the presence of over 500 unauthorized tips across England, encompassing at a minimum of 11 so-called "major sites" bigger than 20,000 tons.

A representative for the environment authorities stated that the arrests were for environment-related and money laundering crimes and constituted a "crucial step" in active inquiries. The apprehended men have been let go on conditional release.

Magnitude of the Problem

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

This heap of garbage is made up of what appears to be treated residential waste, shredded plastics, polystyrene, tires and assorted household articles.

It constitutes just a single of 517 unauthorized sites across England, at minimum 11 of which hold in excess of 20,000 tons of garbage. These feature a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The overall number of such bigger sites is probably to be larger, as the environmental agency has earlier acknowledged it does not possess records on tonnage for all unauthorized dump.

The majority these sites are in agricultural areas, typically concealed, and on land that is intended to be agricultural ground.

Criminal Operations

Authorities say a significant number are operated by criminal organizations, who are earning money by asking for much less than legitimate firms to receive and landfill rubbish.

Firms have to be liable for site fees to use lawful landfill sites, depending on the volume and category of material they are trying to discard, and a waste tax is also charged at just over £126 per metric ton.

Community Outrage

Preparation efforts to clear the Kidlington area site commenced recently due to fears over the potential of fire and the effect that would have on the adjacent highway.

A contracted waste removal firm has been given the contract to handle the location over the coming 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An investigations official for the national environment division said that the agency would be aiming to recover the clearance costs under confiscation laws from anyone successfully found guilty at the conclusion of its ongoing investigation.

She added that this week's detentions would help "drive the probe forward" and enable the agency to "investigate more leads to ascertain precisely what occurred and who was a party to it".

"This illegal dump at Kidlington was an appalling and deliberate affront on our ecology and officials share the public's outrage at this terrible act," she said.

A government minister supported the actions, commenting: "The illegal deposit of waste at the site is appalling and has caused considerable detriment to the ecology and upset to the nearby population.

"Our authorities is committed to stamping out this type of illegal activity in the UK, by increasing resources to address illegal dumping, hiring more staff and implementing stricter controls and penalties for those who break the regulations."

The detentions were made on the specified day by officers from a dedicated organised crime team and are in addition to an earlier apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area in the autumn. He was set free awaiting further enquiries.