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Two individuals have been taken into custody as a component of an inquiry into the dumping of many thousands of tons of waste in a field in Oxfordshire, England.

Authorities reported that a 69-year-old was arrested at a property in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in the town of Slough in connection with the enormous heap of waste deposited near the area of Kidlington.

These arrests follow a prior investigation which uncovered the operation of over 500 illegal dumps throughout England, encompassing at minimum 11 so-called "super sites" larger than 20,000 tons.

A representative for the environmental agency said that the detentions were for environmental and proceeds of crime crimes and constituted a "key step" in ongoing investigations. Both men have been set free on conditional release.

Size of the Problem

The tipping ground in the Kidlington area, located between the river Cherwell and the A34, is believed to hold around 21,000 tons of refuse in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) in height.

This heap of garbage is consists of what appears to be treated residential waste, chopped up plastic materials, polystyrene, tyres and other everyday items.

It constitutes just one of 517 unauthorized dumps throughout the country, at minimum 11 of which contain over 20,000 metric tons of garbage. Such sites encompass a 280,000-tonne location in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The overall figure of such larger dumps is expected to be greater, as the environment authority has in the past acknowledged it does not hold records on tonnage for all illegal site.

The majority these sites are in countryside settings, frequently concealed, and on land that should be arable property.

Criminal Enterprise

Law enforcement say numerous are managed by criminal organizations, who are making cash by asking for significantly less than licensed companies to receive and landfill waste.

Businesses have to be liable for site fees to use legitimate disposal sites, depending on the volume and category of waste they are trying to discard, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per ton.

Public Anger

Preparatory work to clean up the Kidlington dump commenced in recent weeks due to fears over the potential of combustion and the effect that would have on the close-by highway.

A commercial clean-up contractor has been given the job to remediate the area over the coming 12 months period at a cost of £9.6m.

An enforcement official for the government regulatory team stated that the body would be seeking to recoup the clean-up costs under asset recovery laws from any individual found guilty at the termination of its active case.

She noted that this week's apprehensions would help "push the probe forward" and permit the agency to "pursue more avenues to ascertain in detail what occurred and who was involved".

"This unauthorized tip at the site was an atrocious and intentional assault on our environment and the authorities empathize with the public's outrage at this terrible crime," she said.

A senior minister praised the detentions, commenting: "This unauthorized deposit of waste at the site is disgraceful and has led to substantial detriment to the natural world and upset to the nearby residents.

"The authorities is dedicated to stamping out this type of crime throughout the UK, by increasing resources to combat environmental crime, employing more staff and enacting stricter checks and fines for those who violate the regulations."

The arrests were executed on a recent Thursday by officers from a specialist serious crime team and follow an previous arrest of a 39-year-old from the Surrey region in November. He was let go pending additional inquiries.