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A pair of individuals have been taken into custody as part of an inquiry into the illegal deposit of many thousands of tonnes of waste in a field in Oxfordshire.

Officials stated that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a property in the town of Andover, while a man in his fifties was arrested in Slough, Berkshire in association with the enormous mound of waste dumped near the area of Kidlington.

These apprehensions follow a previous investigation which revealed the operation of in excess of 500 unauthorized dumps in the country of England, featuring at minimum 11 so-called "super sites" larger than 20,000 tons.

A spokeswoman for the environmental agency said that the apprehensions were for environment-related and proceeds of crime crimes and were a "crucial step" in ongoing investigations. The apprehended men have been let go on bail.

Magnitude of the Issue

The dump in Kidlington, situated between the river Cherwell and the A34, is estimated to hold around 21,000 tons of refuse in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) high.

This heap of garbage is made up of what appears to be sorted domestic refuse, shredded plastic materials, Styrofoam, automobile tires and various household objects.

It is just a single of 517 unlawful dumps throughout the country, at minimum 11 of which are estimated to hold over 20,000 tonnes of rubbish. These feature a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The overall amount of such larger dumps is probably to be larger, as the regulatory agency has previously stated it does not maintain records on weight for all unlawful dump.

A large proportion of sites are in agricultural locations, often hidden, and on land that is intended to be farm property.

Organised Operations

Law enforcement report numerous are operated by criminal organizations, who are earning cash by asking for significantly less than lawful operators to receive and dispose of garbage.

Companies have to pay gate fees to use legitimate waste facilities, contingent on the amount and nature of refuse they are trying to discard, and landfill tax is also applied at just over £126 per tonne.

Community Frustration

Preparatory work to clear the Kidlington area dump began in recent weeks amid worries over the risk of blaze and the consequences that would have on the adjacent highway.

A contracted waste clearance company has been granted the task to remediate the area over the following 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An enforcement official for the country's regulatory team commented that the authority would be looking to claim back the clean-up funds under confiscation legislation from any party convicted at the conclusion of its active case.

She further stated that the recent detentions would help "move the probe forward" and allow officials to "investigate more lines of inquiry to understand exactly what transpired and who was a party to it".

"The illegal dump at the site was an appalling and calculated attack on our ecology and we empathize with the local outrage at this horrific offence," she stated.

A senior minister praised the detentions, commenting: "This illegal dumping of waste at the site is appalling and has resulted in considerable damage to the environment and distress to the local community.

"The authorities is pledged to eradicating this category of crime throughout the nation, by boosting resources to combat waste crime, recruiting more personnel and introducing tougher measures and fines for those who break the regulations."

The detentions were made on a recent Thursday by agents from a specialist organised crime unit and are in addition to an prior apprehension of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area area in last November. He was set free subject to additional investigations.