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A pair of individuals have been arrested as a component of an inquiry into the illegal deposit of thousands of metric tons of rubbish in a field in the county of Oxfordshire.

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

These apprehensions come after a previous report which exposed the operation of over 500 unlawful dumps across the country of England, featuring at a minimum of 11 so-called "large-scale sites" bigger than 20,000 metric tons.

A official for the environment agency commented that the arrests were for environmental and money laundering offences and constituted a "crucial step" in active investigations. The apprehended men have been released on conditional release.

Size of the Problem

The illegal site in Kidlington, positioned between the Cherwell River and the A34, is estimated to hold about 21,000 tons of refuse in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) high.

This heap of waste is consists of what seems to be treated household rubbish, shredded plastics, expanded polystyrene, tires and various household objects.

It constitutes just a single of 517 illegal dumps throughout England, at minimum 11 of which contain more than 20,000 metric tons of rubbish. Such sites encompass a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The overall amount of such major sites is expected to be larger, as the regulatory authority has earlier acknowledged it does not hold information on tonnage for every illegal site.

Most these sites are in rural locations, frequently concealed, and on land that should be agricultural property.

Organized Operations

Law enforcement report many are operated by criminal organizations, who are earning money by demanding much less than lawful operators to take and bury waste.

Companies have to be liable for disposal fees to use licensed disposal sites, based on the quantity and type of refuse they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per ton.

Local Frustration

Initial work to remove the Kidlington dump began in recent weeks due to fears over the risk of blaze and the impact that would have on the close-by major road.

A commercial clean-up firm has been awarded the task to handle the area over the coming 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An compliance officer for the government regulatory division stated that the body would be seeking to claim back the clean-up funds under proceeds of crime legislation from any individual convicted at the termination of its ongoing investigation.

She further stated that the recent detentions would help "move the probe forward" and permit officials to "pursue more leads to ascertain precisely what happened and who was involved".

"This illegal dump at this location was an appalling and deliberate assault on our environment and officials empathize with the community's frustration at this terrible act," she remarked.

A government representative praised the actions, commenting: "The unlawful dumping of waste at Kidlington is appalling and has resulted in significant damage to the environment and upset to the surrounding community.

"The government is pledged to eliminating this kind of criminality in the UK, by boosting funds to combat illegal dumping, employing more personnel and enacting tougher checks and sanctions for those who break the rules."

The arrests were made on the specified day by agents from a specialist organised crime unit and follow an previous detention of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area in last November. He was let go subject to more enquiries.