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Two individuals have been detained as part of an inquiry into the dumping of several thousand of tonnes of refuse in a open field in Oxfordshire.

Officials stated that a man in his late sixties was detained at a property in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in Slough, Berkshire in association with the massive heap of rubbish deposited near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These apprehensions come after a prior revelation which uncovered the operation of in excess of 500 unlawful dumps throughout England, encompassing at a minimum of 11 so-called "large-scale sites" bigger than 20,000 tons.

A spokeswoman for the environment body stated that the detentions were for environmental and proceeds of crime violations and represented a "vital step" in active probes. The two individuals have been set free on bail.

Magnitude of the Situation

The tipping ground in Kidlington, situated between the River Cherwell and the A34 highway, is believed to contain around 21,000 metric tons of waste in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) in height.

This mound of rubbish is made up of what appears to be treated domestic rubbish, shredded plastic materials, expanded polystyrene, automobile tires and other household articles.

It represents just one of 517 unlawful sites in England, at a minimum of 11 of which contain in excess of 20,000 tonnes of rubbish. Such sites include a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The overall number of such larger sites is probably to be larger, as the environmental authority has earlier stated it does not hold records on weight for each unauthorized tip.

The majority such locations are in countryside locations, typically concealed, and on land that is zoned as agricultural land.

Organised Activity

Law enforcement state numerous are run by organized crime groups, who are earning cash by asking for much less than lawful operators to accept and landfill garbage.

Firms have to be liable for disposal fees to use legitimate waste facilities, based on the volume and category of refuse they are trying to get rid of, and a waste tax is also levied at just over £126 per ton.

Public Anger

Preparation operations to remove the Kidlington location began in recent weeks following worries over the potential of blaze and the effect that would have on the nearby A-road.

A commercial waste clearance firm has been granted the task to remediate the site over the coming 12 months period at a cost of £9.6m.

An enforcement official for the government environmental crime team commented that the agency would be seeking to claim back the remediation funds under asset recovery laws from any party successfully prosecuted at the termination of its ongoing case.

She further stated that the recent detentions would help "push the investigation forward" and enable the agency to "pursue more lines of inquiry to understand precisely what transpired and who was a party to it".

"The unauthorized dump at this location was an appalling and intentional assault on our ecology and we empathize with the community's frustration at this horrific act," she said.

A senior minister welcomed the arrests, adding: "The unauthorized dumping of waste at the site is utterly appalling and has caused substantial detriment to the natural world and anguish to the surrounding residents.

"Our authorities is pledged to eliminating this type of criminality across the UK, by boosting funds to tackle illegal dumping, recruiting more officers and enacting stricter controls and sanctions for those who flout the rules."

The apprehensions were made on the specified day by officers from a specialist serious crime team and are in addition to an previous detention of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area area in last November. He was set free pending further inquiries.