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A pair of individuals have been detained as a component of an investigation into the dumping of several thousand of metric tons of rubbish in a field in Oxfordshire, England.

Authorities stated that a man in his late sixties was apprehended at a dwelling in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in Slough in relation with the massive mound of garbage tipped near Kidlington.

These arrests come after a previous revelation which uncovered the operation of in excess of 500 unlawful sites throughout England, including at least 11 so-called "major sites" larger than 20,000 metric tons.

A spokeswoman for the regulatory agency said that the apprehensions were for ecological and financial crimes and constituted a "key step" in active probes. The two individuals have been released on conditional release.

Size of the Problem

The illegal site in Kidlington, located between the Cherwell River and the A34 highway, is estimated to hold about 21,000 metric tons of refuse in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) tall.

This mound of waste is made up of what appears to be treated household rubbish, chopped up plastics, expanded polystyrene, tyres and other household articles.

It constitutes just one of 517 illegal sites in England, at a minimum of 11 of which are estimated to hold more than 20,000 metric tons of garbage. They include a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in the county of Kent.

The overall amount of such bigger dumps is probably to be greater, as the regulatory body has earlier acknowledged it does not possess records on weight for all unlawful tip.

A large proportion of these sites are in countryside settings, typically concealed, and on land that is intended to be farm ground.

Organised Activity

Law enforcement say a significant number are run by criminal organizations, who are making money by charging far less than lawful operators to take and landfill waste.

Firms have to pay gate fees to use lawful landfill sites, depending on the quantity and type of waste they are trying to get rid of, and a disposal levy is also charged at just over £126 per ton.

Public Anger

Preparation operations to clear the affected location started earlier this month due to concerns over the risk of fire and the consequences that would have on the close-by major road.

A contracted waste removal contractor has been granted the job to remediate the area over the coming 12 months period at a expense of £9.6m.

An investigations officer for the national environmental crime division said that the body would be looking to claim back the clearance costs under asset recovery acts from any party found guilty at the end of its current investigation.

She further stated that this week's detentions would help "drive the investigation forward" and enable the agency to "follow more lines of inquiry to determine exactly what happened and who was implicated".

"The unauthorized site at Kidlington was an atrocious and intentional attack on our natural surroundings and officials empathize with the community's outrage at this terrible offence," she stated.

A senior minister supported the detentions, commenting: "This unauthorized deposit of garbage at this location is disgraceful and has led to substantial harm to the environment and anguish to the surrounding population.

"Our authorities is dedicated to eradicating this type of illegal activity in the country, by boosting financing to combat waste crime, hiring more personnel and implementing more severe measures and penalties for those who break the rules."

The arrests were carried out on a recent Thursday by officers from a regional organised crime team and follow an prior detention of a man in his thirties from the Surrey region in the autumn. He was let go awaiting further enquiries.