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Two individuals have been taken into custody as part of an probe into the illegal deposit of thousands of tonnes of refuse in a rural field in Oxfordshire.

Officials stated that a 69-year-old was arrested at a residence in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in Slough, Berkshire in connection with the massive mound of garbage dumped near Kidlington.

These apprehensions come after a previous investigation which exposed the presence of over 500 illegal sites in the country of England, featuring at minimum 11 so-called "large-scale sites" larger than 20,000 tonnes.

A spokeswoman for the environmental agency stated that the apprehensions were for environmental and financial crimes and were a "vital step" in active probes. Both men have been let go on bail.

Scale of the Situation

The illegal site in near Kidlington, situated between the river Cherwell and the A34 highway, is estimated to house around 21,000 tonnes of rubbish in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) tall.

This heap of rubbish is consists of what appears to be processed residential refuse, shredded plastic items, expanded polystyrene, automobile tires and assorted domestic items.

It represents just one example of 517 unauthorized dumps in England, at minimum 11 of which are estimated to hold in excess of 20,000 tonnes of garbage. These encompass a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The actual amount of such bigger dumps is likely to be greater, as the regulatory body has in the past stated it does not possess information on volume for every unlawful dump.

Most such locations are in rural locations, often out of sight, and on land that is intended to be agricultural ground.

Criminal Operations

Law enforcement state many are managed by criminal organizations, who are earning money by demanding significantly less than lawful operators to receive and dispose of rubbish.

Companies have to pay site fees to use licensed waste facilities, depending on the volume and category of material they are trying to dispose of, and a disposal levy is also applied at just over £126 per ton.

Local Frustration

Preparatory efforts to clear the Kidlington area location commenced in recent weeks following concerns over the risk of blaze and the effect that would have on the nearby A-road.

A private waste clearance firm has been awarded the contract to remediate the location over the following 12 months period at a expense of £9.6m.

An compliance official for the government regulatory division commented that the agency would be seeking to recover the clearance expenses under proceeds of crime legislation from anyone ultimately convicted at the conclusion of its current case.

She further stated that this week's detentions would help "push the investigation forward" and allow authorities to "follow more leads to understand precisely what transpired and who was a party to it".

"This illegal tip at the site was an atrocious and deliberate attack on our natural surroundings and officials share the local frustration at this egregious offence," she said.

A senior representative praised the detentions, stating: "The illegal dumping of waste at the site is appalling and has led to substantial detriment to the natural world and anguish to the surrounding community.

"The administration is committed to eradicating this kind of criminality throughout the country, by boosting financing to tackle illegal dumping, recruiting more officers and enacting tougher measures and fines for those who violate the law."

The arrests were executed on Thursday by personnel from a dedicated organised crime unit and are in addition to an prior arrest of a man in his thirties from the Surrey region in last November. He was set free subject to additional investigations.