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Two individuals have been taken into custody as a component of an inquiry into the dumping of thousands of metric tons of refuse in a field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Officials reported that a 69-year-old was arrested at a property in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in the town of Slough in relation with the enormous heap of garbage deposited near Kidlington.

These detentions occur a week after a prior investigation which exposed the presence of in excess of 500 unlawful dumps throughout the country of England, featuring at least 11 so-called "major sites" greater than 20,000 tonnes.

A official for the environment authorities commented that the apprehensions were for environment-related and financial crimes and were a "crucial step" in ongoing inquiries. The two individuals have been let go on pre-trial release.

Size of the Situation

The tipping ground in the Kidlington area, situated between the River Cherwell and the A34 road, is believed to contain approximately 21,000 tonnes of rubbish in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) in height.

This heap of rubbish is consists of what seems to be treated household rubbish, chopped up plastic materials, expanded polystyrene, automobile tires and various domestic articles.

It is just one of 517 unauthorized sites in the country, at least 11 of which are estimated to hold in excess of 20,000 tonnes of garbage. They encompass a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The total figure of such larger sites is probably to be greater, as the environmental authority has in the past acknowledged it does not possess data on weight for each unlawful site.

The majority sites are in rural locations, often out of sight, and on land that is zoned as farm ground.

Organised Activity

Law enforcement state many are managed by organised crime gangs, who are earning cash by demanding much less than legitimate operators to take and dispose of rubbish.

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

Public Outrage

Initial operations to remove the Kidlington site began recently amid fears over the potential of fire and the impact that would have on the close-by major road.

A commercial clean-up company has been awarded the task to deal with the site over the following 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An compliance officer for the national environment unit commented that the body would be seeking to recoup the clearance costs under confiscation acts from any party prosecuted at the end of its ongoing case.

She noted that the recent arrests would help "push the probe forward" and enable the agency to "follow more lines of inquiry to determine in detail what occurred and who was involved".

"The unlawful site at the site was an shocking and calculated attack on our ecology and officials understand the local outrage at this egregious offence," she stated.

A cabinet minister welcomed the actions, commenting: "This unauthorized tipping of rubbish at Kidlington is appalling and has led to significant detriment to the natural world and anguish to the nearby population.

"The government is dedicated to stamping out this kind of criminality throughout the nation, by boosting financing to combat waste crime, hiring more staff and introducing stricter checks and sanctions for those who break the law."

The apprehensions were executed on a recent Thursday by personnel from a specialist serious crime unit and follow an earlier detention of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area in November. He was released subject to further enquiries.