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A pair of individuals have been taken into custody as an element of an inquiry into the dumping of thousands of tons of waste in a field in Oxfordshire.

Officials stated that a 69-year-old was detained at a residence in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in Slough in relation with the massive mound of waste dumped near the area of Kidlington.

These apprehensions occur a week after a previous revelation which exposed the operation of over 500 illegal tips throughout the country of England, featuring at a minimum of 11 so-called "super sites" bigger than 20,000 metric tons.

A representative for the environmental body commented that the apprehensions were for environment-related and proceeds of crime crimes and constituted a "key step" in continuing inquiries. The two individuals have been released on bail.

Size of the Issue

The tipping ground in the Kidlington area, situated between the Cherwell River and the A34, is believed to house about 21,000 tons of waste in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) in height.

This pile of rubbish is composed of what looks to be sorted household waste, shredded plastic items, polystyrene, tyres and various everyday objects.

It constitutes just a single of 517 illegal sites in England, at a minimum of 11 of which hold in excess of 20,000 tons of waste. They feature a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne dump in the county of Kent.

The total number of such larger dumps is likely to be higher, as the environment agency has earlier stated it does not possess data on weight for each unauthorized dump.

A large proportion of sites are in rural settings, typically concealed, and on land that should be arable property.

Organized Activity

Law enforcement report a significant number are managed by criminal organizations, who are generating profit by charging significantly less than lawful firms to take and bury rubbish.

Businesses have to incur site fees to use legitimate landfill sites, based on the quantity and nature of material they are trying to discard, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Local Anger

Preparation operations to remove the affected site started in recent weeks due to worries over the potential of fire and the consequences that would have on the close-by A-road.

A private clean-up company has been granted the task to remediate the area over the coming 12 months period at a cost of £9.6m.

An enforcement official for the country's environment team commented that the agency would be seeking to recover the remediation expenses under asset recovery laws from anyone successfully prosecuted at the conclusion of its ongoing investigation.

She further stated that these arrests would help "push the probe forward" and permit officials to "pursue more avenues to understand in detail what happened and who was implicated".

"The unlawful dump at this location was an appalling and intentional attack on our ecology and we empathize with the community's anger at this terrible act," she stated.

A government official supported the actions, commenting: "The illegal deposit of garbage at Kidlington is disgraceful and has caused substantial detriment to the environment and distress to the local community.

"The authorities is committed to eliminating this type of crime throughout the country, by increasing funds to address waste crime, hiring more personnel and enacting more severe controls and penalties for those who break the law."

The detentions were made on Thursday by officers from a regional serious crime team and come after an prior arrest of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area area in November. He was set free awaiting more inquiries.