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Two individuals have been taken into custody as a component of an probe into the dumping of thousands of metric tons of refuse in a field in Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement stated that a man in his late sixties was apprehended at a property in Andover, Hampshire, while a man in his fifties was arrested in Slough, Berkshire in association with the massive mound of waste tipped near Kidlington.

These apprehensions occur a week after a prior investigation which uncovered the presence of over 500 unauthorized dumps in the country of England, encompassing at a minimum of 11 so-called "super sites" greater than 20,000 tonnes.

A representative for the environment body stated that the detentions were for ecological and financial crimes and constituted a "crucial step" in continuing investigations. Both men have been let go on conditional release.

Scale of the Situation

The illegal site in near Kidlington, located between the River Cherwell and the A34 highway, is estimated to contain approximately 21,000 tons of rubbish in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) tall.

This mound of rubbish is made up of what appears to be sorted household waste, fragmented plastics, polystyrene, tyres and other domestic articles.

It is just a single of 517 unauthorized dumps across England, at least 11 of which contain over 20,000 tons of garbage. Such sites include a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The overall amount of such larger sites is expected to be higher, as the regulatory body has previously indicated it does not maintain data on volume for each unlawful site.

The majority these sites are in countryside areas, frequently hidden, and on land that is intended to be arable ground.

Organized Operations

Police report a significant number are operated by organised crime gangs, who are making profit by demanding significantly less than legitimate operators to accept and dispose of waste.

Firms have to incur gate fees to use legitimate disposal sites, based on the amount and category of waste they are trying to discard, and landfill tax is also levied at just over £126 per tonne.

Community Outrage

Preparatory efforts to remove the affected dump started recently due to fears over the potential of blaze and the consequences that would have on the adjacent A-road.

A private waste clearance contractor has been awarded the job to handle the area over the next 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An investigations manager for the country's environmental crime team stated that the agency would be aiming to claim back the clean-up expenses under confiscation legislation from anyone convicted at the conclusion of its current inquiry.

She further stated that the recent arrests would help "push the inquiry forward" and enable the agency to "pursue more lines of inquiry to ascertain in detail what happened and who was implicated".

"This unlawful site at Kidlington was an atrocious and calculated affront on our natural surroundings and we empathize with the public's anger at this horrific offence," she remarked.

A senior official supported the actions, stating: "This illegal dumping of garbage at Kidlington is disgraceful and has resulted in considerable harm to the environment and anguish to the nearby community.

"Our administration is committed to stamping out this category of criminality across the UK, by augmenting financing to combat environmental crime, hiring more officers and enacting stricter measures and sanctions for those who flout the rules."

The detentions were carried out on a recent Thursday by officers from a specialist crime team and are in addition to an previous apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Surrey area in the autumn. He was released subject to additional investigations.