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A pair of individuals have been detained as part of an inquiry into the illegal deposit of thousands of metric tons of rubbish in a field in Oxfordshire, England.

Officials indicated that a man in his late sixties was apprehended at a residence in the town of Andover, while a man in his fifties was arrested in Slough in relation with the massive pile of rubbish deposited near Kidlington.

These arrests come after a recent investigation which exposed the operation of more than 500 unauthorized dumps in England, encompassing at minimum 11 so-called "super sites" larger than 20,000 metric tons.

A representative for the environment agency commented that the apprehensions were for environmental and financial crimes and constituted a "vital step" in active probes. The two individuals have been set free on pre-trial release.

Size of the Issue

The dump in near Kidlington, located between the River Cherwell and the A34, is believed to house about 21,000 tons of refuse in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) high.

This pile of rubbish is composed of what seems to be processed household rubbish, chopped up plastics, expanded polystyrene, tires and various everyday objects.

It represents just a single of 517 illegal sites across the country, at a minimum of 11 of which hold more than 20,000 tons of waste. These include a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire county and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The actual amount of such larger sites is likely to be greater, as the regulatory authority has previously indicated it does not maintain data on weight for each unauthorized tip.

Most these sites are in countryside areas, frequently hidden, and on land that should be farm land.

Organised Operations

Law enforcement state numerous are operated by criminal organizations, who are generating profit by charging significantly less than licensed companies to take and bury garbage.

Companies have to incur gate fees to use legitimate waste facilities, contingent on the volume 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 Outrage

Preparatory operations to clear the affected location began earlier this month following worries over the threat of fire and the consequences that would have on the adjacent A-road.

A commercial clean-up firm has been granted the contract to remediate the site over the following 12 months period at a price of £9.6m.

An compliance official for the government environment team said that the body would be seeking to recoup the clearance costs under confiscation legislation from any party prosecuted at the conclusion of its current inquiry.

She noted that the recent apprehensions would help "move the probe forward" and allow officials to "follow more lines of inquiry to understand exactly what occurred and who was implicated".

"The illegal site at Kidlington was an appalling and calculated assault on our ecology and the authorities empathize with the community's frustration at this horrific offence," she said.

A government official supported the actions, adding: "The illegal dumping of waste at Kidlington is disgraceful and has resulted in significant detriment to the natural world and upset to the nearby residents.

"Our administration is pledged to eliminating this kind of crime across the country, by augmenting funds to address environmental crime, employing more staff and enacting more severe controls and penalties for those who flout the law."

The apprehensions were carried out on Thursday by officers from a specialist organised crime squad and come after an earlier apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area region in the autumn. He was released awaiting additional investigations.