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A pair of individuals have been taken into custody as a component of an investigation into the tipping of several thousand of tonnes of rubbish in a rural field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Authorities indicated that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a dwelling in Hampshire's Andover, while a man in his fifties was detained in Slough in connection with the huge mound of rubbish deposited near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These apprehensions come after a prior report which exposed the operation of over 500 unlawful tips across England, encompassing at least 11 so-called "super sites" greater than 20,000 tons.

A official for the environmental body commented that the arrests were for environmental and proceeds of crime violations and constituted a "key step" in active investigations. Both men have been let go on conditional release.

Magnitude of the Problem

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

This pile of garbage is composed of what seems to be processed domestic refuse, shredded plastic items, polystyrene, tyres and various domestic items.

It is just one example of 517 illegal tips in England, at a minimum of 11 of which are estimated to hold over 20,000 tons of garbage. These encompass a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The total number of such larger sites is probably to be higher, as the environment authority has previously stated it does not hold records on volume for each unauthorized tip.

The majority these sites are in rural locations, frequently concealed, and on land that should be farm ground.

Organized Activity

Law enforcement report numerous are managed by organised crime gangs, who are earning profit by charging much less than lawful companies to take and landfill waste.

Firms have to incur gate fees to use licensed disposal sites, contingent on the amount and type of material they are trying to get rid of, and a disposal levy is also levied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Local Anger

Preparation operations to clear the Kidlington area location started earlier this month due to fears over the risk of combustion and the impact that would have on the adjacent major road.

A private waste removal firm has been awarded the job to remediate the area over the next 12 months period at a cost of £9.6m.

An investigations manager for the country's environment division commented that the agency would be seeking to claim back the clean-up expenses under asset recovery laws from anyone successfully convicted at the end of its current case.

She further stated that the recent arrests would help "move the inquiry forward" and enable officials to "follow more leads to ascertain exactly what happened and who was a party to it".

"This illegal tip at this location was an atrocious and deliberate attack on our ecology and we empathize with the public's outrage at this egregious act," she remarked.

A senior representative praised the detentions, adding: "The unauthorized deposit of waste at this location is utterly appalling and has led to considerable harm to the natural world and upset to the nearby population.

"The authorities is pledged to eliminating this category of illegal activity in the UK, by boosting resources to address waste crime, employing more personnel and enacting more severe measures and sanctions for those who violate the rules."

The apprehensions were made on Thursday by officers from a dedicated organised crime unit and come after an previous arrest of a man in his thirties from the Surrey region in last November. He was let go awaiting further inquiries.