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A pair of individuals have been detained as an element of an investigation into the illegal deposit of thousands of metric tons of waste in a field in Oxfordshire.

Authorities reported that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a dwelling in the town of Andover, while a man in his fifties was taken into custody in the town of Slough in relation with the massive pile of rubbish dumped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These detentions follow a prior revelation which uncovered the operation of in excess of 500 unlawful sites in the country of England, including at a minimum of 11 so-called "super sites" greater than 20,000 tons.

A official for the environmental body commented that the apprehensions were for environmental and proceeds of crime crimes and constituted a "vital step" in active investigations. Both men have been set free on conditional release.

Magnitude of the Situation

The illegal site in the Kidlington area, located between the river Cherwell and the A34, is estimated to contain around 21,000 tonnes of rubbish in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) in height.

This mound of garbage is consists of what seems to be processed residential waste, chopped up plastics, expanded polystyrene, tyres and various household articles.

It constitutes just one example of 517 illegal tips throughout England, at minimum 11 of which contain over 20,000 metric tons of waste. Such sites encompass a 280,000-tonne site in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne site in the county of Kent.

The total figure of such larger dumps is likely to be higher, as the environmental body has earlier stated it does not possess information on weight for each unlawful site.

The majority such locations are in countryside locations, often out of sight, and on land that is zoned as farm property.

Criminal Enterprise

Authorities state a significant number are managed by organised crime gangs, who are earning profit by demanding much less than legitimate firms to take and bury garbage.

Businesses have to incur site fees to use legitimate disposal sites, based on the amount and nature of refuse they are trying to dispose of, and a disposal levy is also charged at just over £126 per ton.

Local Anger

Initial operations to remove the Kidlington location began recently amid worries over the threat of combustion and the impact that would have on the nearby highway.

A private clean-up firm has been awarded the task to remediate the site over the coming 12 months period at a price of £9.6m.

An enforcement manager for the country's regulatory team stated that the agency would be seeking to recoup the remediation costs under asset recovery acts from any individual successfully convicted at the conclusion of its current investigation.

She added that these arrests would help "push the inquiry forward" and permit officials to "pursue more avenues to understand in detail what occurred and who was a party to it".

"This unauthorized dump at this location was an appalling and intentional affront on our ecology and officials understand the local anger at this egregious crime," she said.

A cabinet representative supported the arrests, stating: "This unauthorized deposit of rubbish at the site is utterly appalling and has resulted in significant harm to the ecology and anguish to the nearby community.

"Our government is committed to eradicating this kind of illegal activity throughout the country, by increasing funds to address illegal dumping, employing more personnel and implementing more severe controls and fines for those who flout the regulations."

The apprehensions were made on a recent Thursday by agents from a specialist serious crime team and are in addition to an previous apprehension of a man in his thirties from the Surrey area in last November. He was let go pending more enquiries.