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Two individuals have been taken into custody as part of an investigation into the dumping of many thousands of tonnes of rubbish in a field in Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement reported that a man in his late sixties was apprehended at a dwelling in the town of Andover, while a man in his fifties was detained in Slough, Berkshire in association with the huge mound of rubbish deposited near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These arrests occur a week after a previous investigation which exposed the existence of in excess of 500 unlawful tips throughout England, encompassing at minimum 11 so-called "super sites" bigger than 20,000 tons.

A representative for the regulatory authorities commented that the arrests were for ecological and financial violations and constituted a "key step" in active investigations. The apprehended men have been set free on pre-trial release.

Size of the Issue

The dump in near Kidlington, positioned between the River Cherwell and the A34 highway, is thought to contain about 21,000 metric tons of waste in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) high.

This mound of rubbish is composed of what appears to be processed domestic refuse, chopped up plastic items, polystyrene, tyres and other domestic items.

It is just one of 517 unlawful tips throughout England, at a minimum of 11 of which hold in excess of 20,000 metric tons of rubbish. These feature a 280,000-tonne location in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The total amount of such bigger locations is probably to be larger, as the regulatory body has earlier stated it does not maintain information on tonnage for all unlawful dump.

Most these sites are in agricultural settings, frequently concealed, and on land that is intended to be agricultural land.

Organised Activity

Authorities say a significant number are operated by criminal organizations, who are generating profit by charging far less than lawful firms to accept and landfill garbage.

Companies have to incur gate fees to use legitimate waste facilities, depending on the quantity and type of refuse they are trying to get rid of, and landfill tax is also applied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Local Frustration

Preparation work to clear the Kidlington location commenced recently following concerns over the risk of blaze and the effect that would have on the adjacent highway.

A contracted waste removal firm has been granted the task to remediate the site over the next 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An investigations manager for the national regulatory unit said that the agency would be seeking to recoup the clearance funds under proceeds of crime laws from any party convicted at the end of its active case.

She noted that this week's arrests would help "drive the inquiry forward" and allow the agency to "investigate more lines of inquiry to ascertain precisely what occurred and who was a party to it".

"This unlawful site at the site was an appalling and intentional assault on our ecology and officials empathize with the community's outrage at this horrific act," she remarked.

A cabinet official welcomed the detentions, adding: "This unlawful tipping of waste at this location is appalling and has caused considerable harm to the ecology and distress to the surrounding residents.

"The administration is committed to eradicating this type of crime across the country, by augmenting funds to address illegal dumping, recruiting more officers and enacting tougher checks and fines for those who break the law."

The apprehensions were made on the specified day by personnel from a dedicated organised crime unit and come after an prior apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area region in the autumn. He was set free subject to further investigations.