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Two men have been taken into custody as an element of an inquiry into the dumping of many thousands of metric tons of waste in a field in Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement stated that a 69-year-old was arrested at a dwelling in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was detained in the town of Slough in relation with the massive mound of rubbish dumped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These detentions occur a week after a prior report which uncovered the presence of in excess of 500 illegal dumps in England, encompassing at minimum 11 so-called "large-scale sites" larger than 20,000 tons.

A spokeswoman for the environment body commented that the arrests were for ecological and financial offences and were a "key step" in active inquiries. Both men have been set free on pre-trial release.

Size of the Problem

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

This mound of rubbish is made up of what seems to be treated residential rubbish, shredded plastic materials, polystyrene, automobile tires and various everyday articles.

It represents just a single of 517 unlawful dumps throughout England, at minimum 11 of which contain more than 20,000 tonnes of rubbish. Such sites include a 280,000-tonne area in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The overall number of such major sites is expected to be larger, as the environmental body has in the past indicated it does not possess records on volume for every illegal tip.

A large proportion of these sites are in rural areas, frequently hidden, and on land that is zoned as farm property.

Criminal Operations

Authorities report a significant number are operated by organized crime groups, who are making profit by charging much less than lawful companies to receive and landfill garbage.

Firms have to pay disposal fees to use licensed disposal sites, depending on the volume and category of waste they are trying to get rid of, and a disposal levy is also levied at just over £126 per tonne.

Local Frustration

Preparatory operations to clean up the affected dump began earlier this month amid worries over the threat of blaze and the consequences that would have on the adjacent highway.

A private clean-up contractor has been awarded the job to remediate the location over the following 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An compliance official for the country's environment unit stated that the authority would be seeking to recoup the remediation costs under confiscation legislation from anyone successfully prosecuted at the conclusion of its ongoing inquiry.

She noted that the recent detentions would help "move the probe forward" and enable authorities to "pursue more lines of inquiry to understand precisely what transpired and who was involved".

"This illegal dump at the site was an shocking and intentional affront on our natural surroundings and we understand the local frustration at this terrible crime," she remarked.

A cabinet representative supported the arrests, adding: "This unlawful dumping of waste at Kidlington is utterly appalling and has led to significant detriment to the ecology and distress to the nearby community.

"Our administration is pledged to eliminating this type of illegal activity throughout the country, by boosting resources to tackle environmental crime, employing more staff and implementing more severe controls and sanctions for those who break the rules."

The apprehensions were carried out on Thursday by officers from a specialist crime unit and are in addition to an previous detention of a 39-year-old from the Surrey region in last November. He was released awaiting further investigations.