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A pair of individuals have been taken into custody as a component of an inquiry into the dumping of several thousand of metric tons of refuse in a field in Oxfordshire, England.

Authorities stated that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a dwelling in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was detained in Slough in association with the massive heap of rubbish dumped near the area of Kidlington.

These apprehensions follow a previous investigation which uncovered the presence of more than 500 unlawful sites in England, including at a minimum of 11 so-called "super sites" larger than 20,000 tonnes.

A official for the environmental authorities commented that the arrests were for ecological and money laundering crimes and were a "crucial step" in continuing inquiries. The apprehended men have been let go on conditional release.

Size of the Issue

The illegal site in near Kidlington, located between the Cherwell River and the A34 highway, is believed to hold about 21,000 tons of waste in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) in height.

This mound of rubbish is composed of what looks to be processed domestic refuse, chopped up plastics, polystyrene, tyres and other domestic items.

It is just one of 517 unauthorized tips across England, at least 11 of which hold in excess of 20,000 tonnes of rubbish. Such sites include a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in the county of Kent.

The overall amount of such major sites is expected to be greater, as the environment body has in the past acknowledged it does not hold data on tonnage for all unlawful tip.

Most these sites are in agricultural locations, typically hidden, and on land that is intended to be arable property.

Criminal Enterprise

Police state a significant number are operated by criminal organizations, who are making profit by asking for much less than licensed companies to accept and bury garbage.

Businesses have to be liable for site fees to use lawful waste facilities, based on the volume and type of material they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also charged at just over £126 per ton.

Public Frustration

Initial efforts to remove the Kidlington area location began recently due to worries over the threat of fire and the effect that would have on the close-by major road.

A private waste removal firm has been granted the contract to handle the area over the coming 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An investigations official for the government environment unit stated that the body would be aiming to claim back the remediation expenses under asset recovery legislation from anyone found guilty at the conclusion of its ongoing case.

She added that these arrests would help "push the probe forward" and allow the agency to "pursue more leads to determine in detail what occurred and who was implicated".

"This unlawful site at the site was an shocking and deliberate attack on our environment and the authorities share the community's frustration at this horrific offence," she remarked.

A government minister praised the arrests, stating: "This illegal dumping of garbage at the site is utterly appalling and has led to significant damage to the ecology and upset to the surrounding population.

"The authorities is dedicated to stamping out this type of crime across the country, by boosting financing to tackle environmental crime, recruiting more staff and introducing stricter measures and fines for those who break the rules."

The detentions were carried out on Thursday by agents from a specialist organised crime unit and are in addition to an previous arrest of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area region in November. He was set free awaiting more investigations.