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Two individuals have been detained as part of an probe into the dumping of several thousand of metric tons of waste in a field in Oxfordshire, England.

Authorities stated that a man in his late sixties was apprehended at a residence in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in Slough in association with the massive mound of waste dumped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These apprehensions occur a week after a previous report which uncovered the existence of more than 500 unauthorized dumps throughout England, featuring at least 11 so-called "major sites" greater than 20,000 metric tons.

A representative for the environmental authorities commented that the apprehensions were for environment-related and proceeds of crime offences and constituted a "key step" in ongoing inquiries. Both men have been set free on pre-trial release.

Magnitude of the Problem

The tipping ground in near Kidlington, positioned between the river Cherwell and the A34 road, is believed to contain approximately 21,000 tonnes of waste in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) tall.

This heap of waste is consists of what looks to be sorted residential refuse, chopped up plastic items, expanded polystyrene, automobile tires and assorted everyday articles.

It represents just one example of 517 illegal tips throughout England, at least 11 of which hold over 20,000 tons of garbage. These feature a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in the county of Kent.

The actual figure of such major dumps is likely to be larger, as the environmental body has previously acknowledged it does not possess information on volume for each unauthorized dump.

Most sites are in rural locations, often hidden, and on land that is intended to be agricultural ground.

Organized Activity

Law enforcement state many are run by criminal organizations, who are making profit by demanding much less than legitimate operators to receive and dispose of rubbish.

Firms have to pay site fees to use licensed waste facilities, contingent on the amount and type of material they are trying to dispose of, and a disposal levy is also applied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Community Anger

Preparation efforts to clear the affected location commenced earlier this month amid fears over the potential of combustion and the consequences that would have on the adjacent A-road.

A private waste removal contractor has been given the job to remediate the site over the next 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An investigations manager for the government regulatory team commented that the body would be seeking to recover the clean-up funds under confiscation laws from any party found guilty at the end of its ongoing inquiry.

She noted that the recent detentions would help "push the inquiry forward" and permit the agency to "follow more avenues to understand precisely what happened and who was implicated".

"This unauthorized tip at Kidlington was an atrocious and intentional assault on our ecology and we empathize with the community's outrage at this terrible offence," she stated.

A senior minister welcomed the arrests, adding: "The unauthorized deposit of rubbish at Kidlington is appalling and has caused substantial harm to the natural world and anguish to the nearby residents.

"Our government is pledged to eradicating this type of illegal activity across the UK, by boosting financing to combat environmental crime, hiring more officers and introducing more severe measures and sanctions for those who break the regulations."

The arrests were carried out on Thursday by personnel from a regional organised crime team and follow an earlier detention of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area region in November. He was let go pending additional enquiries.