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Two men have been detained as part of an inquiry into the illegal deposit of several thousand of tons of refuse in a field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Officials reported that a 69-year-old was arrested at a property in Andover, Hampshire, while a man in his fifties was arrested in Slough, Berkshire in connection with the massive pile of rubbish deposited near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These arrests occur a week after a prior report which uncovered the operation of in excess of 500 illegal tips throughout the country of England, encompassing at minimum 11 so-called "large-scale sites" bigger than 20,000 tons.

A representative for the regulatory agency stated that the arrests were for environmental and proceeds of crime violations and represented a "crucial step" in ongoing inquiries. The two individuals have been set free on conditional release.

Scale of the Problem

The dump in Kidlington, positioned between the Cherwell River and the A34 road, is estimated to house approximately 21,000 tons of rubbish in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) in height.

This heap of waste is composed of what seems to be sorted domestic refuse, fragmented plastic materials, expanded polystyrene, tyres and various everyday items.

It represents just one of 517 unlawful tips throughout the country, at a minimum of 11 of which contain in excess of 20,000 metric tons of garbage. These encompass a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in the county of Kent.

The actual figure of such major dumps is expected to be higher, as the regulatory agency has in the past acknowledged it does not hold records on volume for every unauthorized site.

A large proportion of these sites are in countryside settings, frequently out of sight, and on land that is zoned as agricultural ground.

Criminal Operations

Police state a significant number are managed by criminal organizations, who are generating money by demanding significantly less than licensed firms to receive and landfill garbage.

Businesses have to incur site fees to use lawful disposal sites, depending on the amount and type of waste they are trying to dispose of, and landfill tax is also charged at just over £126 per metric ton.

Public Frustration

Preparatory work to remove the Kidlington location commenced recently amid fears over the risk of combustion and the effect that would have on the close-by highway.

A private waste removal company has been awarded the task to deal with the location over the next 12 months period at a price of £9.6m.

An enforcement manager for the national regulatory division said that the body would be looking to recoup the clearance costs under asset recovery laws from any party ultimately convicted at the end of its ongoing investigation.

She added that these detentions would help "move the investigation forward" and enable authorities to "investigate more avenues to determine precisely what occurred and who was implicated".

"The unlawful dump at Kidlington was an shocking and calculated affront on our environment and the authorities empathize with the public's outrage at this terrible offence," she said.

A government minister supported the actions, commenting: "This unlawful deposit of rubbish at this location is utterly appalling and has led to substantial detriment to the environment and distress to the surrounding population.

"The authorities is dedicated to eliminating this category of crime across the nation, by augmenting resources to address waste crime, recruiting more personnel and introducing stricter checks and sanctions for those who violate the law."

The arrests were carried out on Thursday by officers from a specialist organised crime squad and come after an earlier arrest of a 39-year-old from the Surrey area in last November. He was let go awaiting additional investigations.