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A pair of individuals have been taken into custody as a component of an investigation into the illegal deposit of several thousand of tons of rubbish in a field in Oxfordshire.

Officials stated that a man in his late sixties was detained at a property in the town of Andover, while a man in his fifties was arrested in Slough, Berkshire in association with the massive heap of waste tipped near the area of Kidlington.

These apprehensions follow a previous report which uncovered the operation of in excess of 500 unlawful sites across the country of England, encompassing at minimum 11 so-called "super sites" greater than 20,000 tons.

A representative for the environment authorities stated that the detentions were for ecological and financial violations and constituted a "vital step" in ongoing inquiries. The apprehended men have been released on pre-trial release.

Scale of the Problem

The illegal site in Kidlington, situated between the river Cherwell and the A34, is estimated to contain about 21,000 tonnes of waste in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) high.

This heap of waste is composed of what seems to be treated household refuse, fragmented plastic materials, Styrofoam, automobile tires and assorted household items.

It represents just a single of 517 unauthorized tips in the country, at a minimum of 11 of which hold in excess of 20,000 metric tons of rubbish. These feature a 280,000-tonne site in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The total number of such bigger dumps is expected to be larger, as the environment agency has in the past stated it does not possess data on tonnage for each illegal tip.

The majority these sites are in agricultural areas, often hidden, and on land that is intended to be agricultural property.

Organized Operations

Police say many are managed by criminal organizations, who are making money by asking for much less than legitimate firms to receive and bury waste.

Firms have to incur site fees to use licensed landfill sites, based on the quantity and category of material they are trying to discard, and landfill tax is also applied at just over £126 per tonne.

Local Anger

Preparation operations to clean up the Kidlington location began earlier this month amid concerns over the threat of fire and the consequences that would have on the close-by highway.

A commercial waste clearance contractor has been granted the task to deal with the area over the following 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An enforcement official for the national environment unit commented that the agency would be aiming to claim back the clearance costs under proceeds of crime laws from anyone found guilty at the termination of its current case.

She noted that the recent arrests would help "move the inquiry forward" and enable officials to "pursue more leads to understand exactly what transpired and who was a party to it".

"This unlawful site at Kidlington was an atrocious and calculated attack on our environment and officials empathize with the public's anger at this terrible offence," she stated.

A government minister supported the actions, stating: "This unlawful deposit of waste at this location is appalling and has led to considerable damage to the natural world and upset to the nearby population.

"The authorities is pledged to eradicating this category of criminality in the country, by increasing financing to combat waste crime, recruiting more staff and enacting stricter checks and fines for those who violate the law."

The detentions were made on Thursday by agents from a specialist serious crime squad and follow an prior apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area area in the autumn. He was released awaiting further investigations.