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Two individuals have been detained as a component of an probe into the illegal deposit of thousands of tonnes of refuse in a open field in Oxfordshire, England.

Law enforcement stated that a 69-year-old was arrested at a property in Andover, Hampshire, while a man in his fifties was arrested in Slough in association with the massive heap of waste dumped near Kidlington.

These detentions come after a prior revelation which exposed the operation of more than 500 unlawful dumps in the country of England, encompassing at a minimum of 11 so-called "large-scale sites" bigger than 20,000 tonnes.

A representative for the regulatory authorities stated that the detentions were for ecological and proceeds of crime crimes and represented a "key step" in continuing investigations. The apprehended men have been released on pre-trial release.

Size of the Issue

The dump in near Kidlington, situated between the River Cherwell and the A34 road, is thought to house approximately 21,000 metric tons of waste in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) in height.

This pile of rubbish is composed of what appears to be treated domestic refuse, chopped up plastic items, Styrofoam, tires and assorted household items.

It represents just one example of 517 illegal dumps in England, at least 11 of which hold over 20,000 tons of garbage. These feature a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The actual amount of such bigger dumps is probably to be greater, as the environmental body has in the past indicated it does not maintain data on weight for every illegal site.

The majority such locations are in countryside locations, typically out of sight, and on land that is intended to be farm land.

Criminal Activity

Law enforcement state many are managed by criminal organizations, who are generating profit by asking for significantly less than licensed companies to receive and bury garbage.

Firms have to pay site fees to use licensed landfill sites, depending on the volume and type of waste they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per ton.

Public Outrage

Initial efforts to clean up the Kidlington site commenced in recent weeks amid fears over the risk of fire and the impact that would have on the close-by major road.

A private clean-up firm has been awarded the job to deal with the site over the next 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An compliance manager for the country's environment unit said that the body would be looking to claim back the remediation costs under proceeds of crime laws from anyone prosecuted at the conclusion of its current case.

She noted that the recent apprehensions would help "drive the probe forward" and allow officials to "pursue more lines of inquiry to understand precisely what transpired and who was a party to it".

"This illegal tip at the site was an shocking and deliberate assault on our ecology and the authorities understand the public's outrage at this terrible act," she said.

A government representative praised the detentions, adding: "The unauthorized tipping of rubbish at this location is utterly appalling and has led to significant damage to the ecology and anguish to the surrounding population.

"Our authorities is dedicated to eliminating this kind of illegal activity throughout the country, by augmenting financing to tackle environmental crime, recruiting more staff and implementing tougher controls and penalties for those who break the law."

The apprehensions were made on a recent Thursday by agents from a regional organised crime squad and come after an previous arrest of a 39-year-old from the Surrey region in last November. He was released awaiting further investigations.