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Two men have been detained as an element of an probe into the illegal deposit of many thousands of tons of refuse in a rural field in Oxfordshire, England.

Officials indicated that a 69-year-old was arrested at a dwelling in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in the town of Slough in connection with the enormous pile of rubbish tipped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These apprehensions occur a week after a prior investigation which exposed the operation of over 500 illegal dumps throughout the country of England, encompassing at a minimum of 11 so-called "major sites" bigger than 20,000 tons.

A spokeswoman for the environment body stated that the arrests were for environmental and financial violations and represented a "vital step" in ongoing probes. Both men have been set free on pre-trial release.

Magnitude of the Situation

The tipping ground in near Kidlington, positioned between the River Cherwell and the A34 highway, is thought to contain around 21,000 tons of refuse in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) high.

This heap of rubbish is composed of what seems to be processed domestic rubbish, chopped up plastics, Styrofoam, tyres and various everyday articles.

It represents just a single of 517 unlawful tips in England, at minimum 11 of which contain in excess of 20,000 tons of waste. These encompass a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The overall figure of such bigger dumps is expected to be higher, as the environmental body has previously stated it does not hold information on tonnage for each unauthorized site.

A large proportion of such locations are in countryside locations, typically out of sight, and on land that should be agricultural property.

Organised Operations

Law enforcement report numerous are run by criminal organizations, who are making profit by asking for significantly less than licensed companies to accept and bury waste.

Companies have to incur site fees to use legitimate waste facilities, contingent on the amount and type of material they are trying to dispose of, and a disposal levy is also levied at just over £126 per tonne.

Local Outrage

Preparation operations to remove the affected site started recently amid worries over the risk of combustion and the impact that would have on the nearby highway.

A commercial clean-up firm has been given the job to remediate the location over the following 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An enforcement manager for the national environmental crime unit commented that the body would be aiming to recover the remediation funds under proceeds of crime laws from any individual prosecuted at the end of its ongoing case.

She further stated that the recent detentions would help "push the probe forward" and enable officials to "pursue more lines of inquiry to determine in detail what happened and who was a party to it".

"This unauthorized tip at Kidlington was an appalling and calculated assault on our ecology and officials understand the public's outrage at this horrific offence," she said.

A senior representative supported the arrests, stating: "The illegal dumping of rubbish at Kidlington is utterly appalling and has resulted in significant detriment to the natural world and distress to the local community.

"Our administration is pledged to eradicating this type of crime in the nation, by augmenting resources to tackle illegal dumping, recruiting more staff and enacting more severe controls and fines for those who flout the law."

The arrests were carried out on a recent Thursday by agents from a regional organised crime unit and are in addition to an earlier apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Surrey area in the autumn. He was let go awaiting further inquiries.