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Two men have been taken into custody as a component of an investigation into the dumping of several thousand of tonnes of refuse in a field in Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement stated that a man in his late sixties was apprehended at a residence in Andover, Hampshire, while a man in his fifties was detained in Slough, Berkshire in relation with the enormous heap of rubbish deposited near the area of Kidlington.

These apprehensions come after a prior report which uncovered the operation of over 500 illegal tips throughout the country of England, encompassing at least 11 so-called "super sites" greater than 20,000 metric tons.

A official for the environment agency commented that the apprehensions were for environment-related and financial crimes and constituted a "vital 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, situated between the river Cherwell and the A34, is estimated to house about 21,000 tonnes of refuse in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) tall.

This pile of garbage is made up of what seems to be processed household refuse, chopped up plastic materials, Styrofoam, tyres and other domestic items.

It represents just one example of 517 illegal dumps in England, at minimum 11 of which contain over 20,000 metric tons of garbage. They feature a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The total figure of such larger dumps is expected to be higher, as the environment agency has previously indicated it does not possess information on tonnage for every unauthorized site.

The majority sites are in countryside areas, often hidden, and on land that is zoned as arable property.

Criminal Enterprise

Authorities state many are run by criminal organizations, who are generating money by charging far less than licensed operators to receive and dispose of rubbish.

Firms have to pay site fees to use legitimate landfill sites, depending on the amount and nature of refuse they are trying to discard, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per ton.

Community Outrage

Initial operations to remove the Kidlington area site commenced recently due to worries over the risk of blaze and the consequences that would have on the nearby A-road.

A contracted waste clearance firm has been awarded the task to remediate the location over the following 12 months period at a expense of £9.6m.

An investigations officer for the government environmental crime division said that the authority would be looking to recoup the remediation expenses under confiscation legislation from any individual ultimately prosecuted at the end of its active case.

She added that the recent detentions would help "push the inquiry forward" and allow authorities to "pursue more leads to determine precisely what occurred and who was involved".

"The illegal site at the site was an atrocious and calculated attack on our environment and the authorities share the community's frustration at this egregious act," she stated.

A senior representative supported the arrests, commenting: "The unlawful dumping of rubbish at Kidlington is appalling and has led to significant harm to the ecology and anguish to the surrounding residents.

"Our authorities is pledged to eliminating this category of criminality throughout the country, by augmenting financing to address waste crime, employing more personnel and implementing more severe controls and sanctions for those who break the regulations."

The arrests were carried out on the specified day by personnel from a regional crime team and are in addition to an earlier arrest of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area in last November. He was released subject to additional enquiries.