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A pair of individuals have been taken into custody as an element of an investigation into the dumping of several thousand of metric tons of refuse in a open field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Officials reported that a 69-year-old was arrested at a dwelling in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was detained in the town of Slough in connection with the enormous pile of garbage dumped near Kidlington.

These detentions come after a recent investigation which uncovered the operation of more than 500 illegal sites across England, featuring at least 11 so-called "large-scale sites" greater than 20,000 tonnes.

A spokeswoman for the environmental authorities said that the arrests were for ecological and financial violations and were a "crucial step" in active probes. Both men have been set free on pre-trial release.

Scale of the Situation

The illegal site in the Kidlington area, located between the River Cherwell and the A34 highway, is believed to contain about 21,000 metric tons of rubbish in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) high.

This pile of rubbish is consists of what seems to be processed domestic waste, fragmented plastics, Styrofoam, tyres and various domestic objects.

It is just one of 517 unauthorized tips in England, at least 11 of which are estimated to hold more than 20,000 metric tons of garbage. They include a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in the county of Kent.

The actual number of such bigger locations is probably to be greater, as the regulatory body has in the past stated it does not possess information on volume for all illegal dump.

Most such locations are in agricultural locations, frequently out of sight, and on land that is intended to be agricultural property.

Organised Activity

Police say numerous are operated by organised crime gangs, who are making cash by charging much less than legitimate operators to accept and bury garbage.

Businesses have to pay disposal fees to use lawful waste facilities, based on the quantity and nature of refuse they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Public Outrage

Preparation work to clean up the Kidlington area site commenced recently following concerns over the threat of blaze and the impact that would have on the close-by A-road.

A contracted waste removal company has been granted the job to handle the area over the coming 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An enforcement official for the national environment division stated that the authority would be looking to claim back the remediation expenses under confiscation acts from anyone ultimately convicted at the termination of its active investigation.

She noted that this week's arrests would help "push the probe forward" and enable authorities to "follow more lines of inquiry to determine exactly what occurred and who was involved".

"The unauthorized site at Kidlington was an appalling and calculated assault on our ecology and officials share the public's frustration at this terrible offence," she stated.

A government official welcomed the arrests, adding: "This unauthorized deposit of waste at Kidlington is disgraceful and has resulted in substantial harm to the natural world and upset to the local community.

"The administration is committed to eradicating this type of crime in the country, by augmenting resources to address environmental crime, employing more officers and implementing tougher checks and fines for those who flout the law."

The detentions were made on a recent Thursday by personnel from a specialist crime unit and come after an earlier apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area area in last November. He was let go pending additional enquiries.