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A pair of individuals have been detained as an element of an investigation into the illegal deposit of many thousands of tonnes of refuse in a field in Oxfordshire.

Officials stated that a man in his late sixties was apprehended at a dwelling in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was arrested in the town of Slough in connection with the massive heap of rubbish tipped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These arrests come after a previous report which uncovered the operation of over 500 unauthorized tips throughout the country of England, encompassing at minimum 11 so-called "super sites" larger than 20,000 metric tons.

A official for the environment body commented that the apprehensions were for environmental and financial crimes and constituted a "crucial step" in active investigations. The two individuals have been set free on pre-trial release.

Magnitude of the Situation

The illegal site in the Kidlington area, situated between the River Cherwell and the A34 highway, is believed to contain around 21,000 tons of rubbish in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) tall.

This mound of rubbish is made up of what seems to be sorted domestic refuse, chopped up plastic items, expanded polystyrene, automobile tires and various everyday articles.

It represents just one of 517 unlawful tips in the country, at minimum 11 of which hold over 20,000 tons of rubbish. These feature a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire county and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The total amount of such major sites is likely to be higher, as the regulatory authority has in the past indicated it does not hold records on volume for all illegal tip.

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

Criminal Activity

Law enforcement say numerous are operated by criminal organizations, who are making money by charging far less than lawful firms to receive and landfill waste.

Companies have to incur gate fees to use lawful waste facilities, contingent on the amount and nature of refuse they are trying to get rid of, and landfill tax is also charged at just over £126 per ton.

Local Anger

Initial operations to clear the Kidlington area dump started in recent weeks following worries over the potential of fire and the impact that would have on the close-by A-road.

A private clean-up company has been granted the task to deal with the area over the following 12 months period at a price of £9.6m.

An investigations officer for the country's regulatory team said that the body would be aiming to claim back the clearance funds under asset recovery legislation from any individual successfully convicted at the conclusion of its current investigation.

She further stated that the recent arrests would help "move the investigation forward" and permit the agency to "investigate more avenues to ascertain precisely what happened and who was a party to it".

"The unlawful site at this location was an atrocious and calculated assault on our environment and officials understand the public's outrage at this terrible act," she remarked.

A government minister supported the arrests, commenting: "This illegal deposit of rubbish at the site is appalling and has resulted in considerable harm to the ecology and anguish to the nearby population.

"The government is committed to eliminating this category of criminality across the nation, by boosting funds to tackle waste crime, recruiting more personnel and introducing stricter measures and fines for those who violate the regulations."

The detentions were carried out on Thursday by agents from a specialist crime squad and follow an prior arrest of a 39-year-old from the Surrey area in November. He was set free pending further inquiries.