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Two individuals have been detained as an element of an probe into the illegal deposit of several thousand of tons of refuse in a open field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Authorities stated that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a dwelling in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in Slough in relation with the huge heap of garbage dumped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These apprehensions follow a previous revelation which uncovered the existence of in excess of 500 unlawful sites in England, featuring at a minimum of 11 so-called "super sites" larger than 20,000 metric tons.

A spokeswoman for the environmental body stated that the arrests were for ecological and proceeds of crime crimes and represented a "crucial step" in continuing investigations. The two individuals have been set free on conditional release.

Magnitude of the Issue

The tipping ground in near Kidlington, positioned between the River Cherwell and the A34, is believed to contain approximately 21,000 tonnes of waste in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) in height.

This heap of rubbish is consists of what appears to be treated household waste, shredded plastic items, Styrofoam, tires and other domestic objects.

It represents just one of 517 unauthorized tips throughout England, at least 11 of which are estimated to hold more than 20,000 metric tons of garbage. They encompass a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The overall figure of such larger locations is probably to be greater, as the regulatory authority has in the past stated it does not hold records on tonnage for every unlawful site.

The majority these sites are in rural settings, frequently out of sight, and on land that is intended to be agricultural ground.

Organised Operations

Law enforcement say many are managed by organised crime gangs, who are making profit by charging significantly less than lawful operators to accept and dispose of waste.

Firms have to incur site fees to use legitimate landfill sites, based on the amount and category of material they are trying to dispose of, and landfill tax is also applied at just over £126 per tonne.

Local Frustration

Initial work to clear the affected location began earlier this month due to fears over the risk of blaze and the effect that would have on the close-by A-road.

A commercial clean-up company has been granted the contract to handle the location over the next 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An enforcement manager for the national environmental crime division stated that the body would be looking to claim back the clearance expenses under asset recovery legislation from anyone found guilty at the end of its current case.

She noted that these detentions would help "move the investigation forward" and enable authorities to "pursue more leads to ascertain exactly what transpired and who was implicated".

"This unauthorized dump at this location was an shocking and intentional assault on our ecology and the authorities understand the public's anger at this terrible offence," she remarked.

A government official supported the actions, commenting: "The illegal tipping of waste at Kidlington is disgraceful and has caused significant detriment to the ecology and upset to the surrounding community.

"Our authorities is committed to eradicating this category of criminality across the UK, by boosting resources to combat illegal dumping, hiring more personnel and introducing stricter checks and penalties for those who violate the rules."

The detentions were made on a recent Thursday by personnel from a specialist serious crime unit and come after an earlier arrest of a man in his thirties from the Surrey area in the autumn. He was let go subject to further investigations.