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A pair of individuals have been arrested as a component of an probe into the dumping of thousands of tons of waste in a open field in Oxfordshire, England.

Officials reported that a man in his late sixties was detained at a residence in the town of Andover, while a man in his fifties was taken into custody in the town of Slough in association with the huge pile of garbage tipped near the area of Kidlington.

These detentions come after a recent report which exposed the operation of more than 500 unauthorized dumps in England, encompassing at a minimum of 11 so-called "major sites" greater than 20,000 tons.

A official for the environment body said that the detentions were for ecological and financial violations and constituted a "crucial step" in ongoing investigations. Both men have been released on bail.

Size of the Issue

The illegal site in Kidlington, positioned between the Cherwell River and the A34 highway, is believed to house around 21,000 metric tons of waste in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) in height.

This mound of waste is made up of what seems to be sorted residential refuse, fragmented plastic items, expanded polystyrene, tires and assorted everyday articles.

It is just one example of 517 unlawful tips across England, at a minimum of 11 of which contain in excess of 20,000 tons of rubbish. These encompass a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne dump in the county of Kent.

The overall number of such major locations is expected to be higher, as the environmental body has in the past indicated it does not maintain data on volume for each unauthorized dump.

Most sites are in rural areas, typically concealed, and on land that is intended to be arable ground.

Criminal Enterprise

Law enforcement report numerous are operated by criminal organizations, who are making profit by charging significantly less than lawful firms to accept and landfill garbage.

Businesses have to incur disposal fees to use legitimate disposal sites, based on the quantity and category of refuse they are trying to discard, and a waste tax is also charged at just over £126 per ton.

Local Frustration

Initial operations to remove the Kidlington location began in recent weeks due to concerns over the risk of fire and the effect that would have on the adjacent major road.

A commercial clean-up firm has been given the task to remediate the area over the following 12 months period at a cost of £9.6m.

An compliance official for the government environment unit commented that the agency would be looking to recover the remediation funds under proceeds of crime laws from anyone prosecuted at the end of its active investigation.

She noted that these apprehensions would help "drive the investigation forward" and allow the agency to "pursue more leads to ascertain precisely what happened and who was a party to it".

"This unlawful dump at the site was an shocking and intentional affront on our environment and the authorities empathize with the public's frustration at this egregious offence," she stated.

A government representative supported the actions, adding: "The unlawful deposit of rubbish at the site is utterly appalling and has caused considerable detriment to the natural world and upset to the surrounding community.

"The authorities is pledged to eliminating this kind of crime across the nation, by increasing financing to address environmental crime, hiring more personnel and introducing more severe checks and fines for those who violate the rules."

The apprehensions were made on the specified day by personnel from a dedicated organised crime squad and follow an earlier apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area region in November. He was set free awaiting more inquiries.