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Two individuals have been arrested as an element of an inquiry into the illegal deposit of thousands of metric tons of waste in a rural field in Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement stated that a man in his late sixties was arrested at a residence in Hampshire's Andover, while a man in his fifties was arrested in the town of Slough in relation with the enormous pile of rubbish deposited near the area of Kidlington.

These detentions follow a previous investigation which exposed the operation of in excess of 500 unauthorized tips across the country of England, featuring at minimum 11 so-called "major sites" greater than 20,000 tons.

A official for the regulatory authorities stated that the detentions were for environment-related and money laundering offences and represented a "crucial step" in active inquiries. Both men have been set free on conditional release.

Scale of the Issue

The tipping ground in the Kidlington area, located between the River Cherwell and the A34, is estimated to hold about 21,000 tons of rubbish in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) high.

This heap of rubbish is composed of what looks to be treated household waste, fragmented plastic items, polystyrene, automobile tires and assorted household objects.

It represents just a single of 517 unauthorized dumps in England, at a minimum of 11 of which hold more than 20,000 tons of rubbish. They encompass a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire county and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The actual amount of such larger dumps is probably to be higher, as the regulatory authority has earlier indicated it does not maintain records on weight for every illegal tip.

Most these sites are in countryside settings, often out of sight, and on land that should be agricultural property.

Criminal Activity

Authorities report numerous are operated by criminal organizations, who are making profit by asking for significantly less than licensed operators to take and dispose of waste.

Businesses have to incur site fees to use licensed landfill sites, contingent on the quantity and category of waste they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per ton.

Community Anger

Preparatory operations to clean up the Kidlington area site started earlier this month following concerns over the potential of combustion and the effect that would have on the close-by highway.

A commercial waste clearance firm has been awarded the job to remediate the site over the coming 12 months period at a expense of £9.6m.

An enforcement officer for the national regulatory team said that the agency would be seeking to claim back the clearance funds under asset recovery legislation from anyone successfully found guilty at the end of its current investigation.

She noted that this week's apprehensions would help "move the inquiry forward" and enable the agency to "investigate more leads to determine precisely what transpired and who was implicated".

"The illegal tip at the site was an atrocious and intentional affront on our natural surroundings and we share the local outrage at this terrible offence," she stated.

A senior official welcomed the actions, adding: "This unauthorized dumping of waste at Kidlington is appalling and has caused significant detriment to the ecology and anguish to the nearby residents.

"Our government is pledged to eliminating this category of crime in the nation, by boosting resources to combat environmental crime, hiring more personnel and introducing stricter controls and sanctions for those who break the rules."

The apprehensions were carried out on a recent Thursday by personnel from a specialist serious crime team and follow an prior apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area area in last November. He was released awaiting additional investigations.