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A pair of individuals have been taken into custody as a component of an investigation into the illegal deposit of many thousands of metric tons of waste in a field in Oxfordshire, England.

Law enforcement indicated that a 69-year-old was detained at a residence in Hampshire's Andover, while a man in his fifties was taken into custody in Slough in connection with the huge heap of waste deposited near Kidlington.

These arrests occur a week after a recent investigation which exposed the presence of more than 500 illegal tips across England, featuring at minimum 11 so-called "major sites" greater than 20,000 tonnes.

A spokeswoman for the environmental authorities said that the detentions were for environmental and money laundering offences and represented a "vital step" in continuing investigations. Both men have been released on bail.

Size of the Issue

The tipping ground in Kidlington, located between the River Cherwell and the A34 road, is estimated to contain around 21,000 tons of rubbish in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) tall.

This mound of waste is composed of what seems to be treated residential refuse, shredded plastics, polystyrene, tyres and various everyday articles.

It represents just one of 517 unauthorized dumps throughout England, at a minimum of 11 of which hold in excess of 20,000 tons of waste. These feature a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The overall number of such major dumps is probably to be larger, as the regulatory agency has previously indicated it does not maintain records on weight for all illegal tip.

Most these sites are in rural locations, typically hidden, and on land that should be arable land.

Organised Operations

Law enforcement report numerous are run by organised crime gangs, who are making money by asking for far less than licensed firms to accept and landfill waste.

Businesses have to pay site fees to use legitimate landfill sites, based on the quantity and type of waste they are trying to discard, and a waste tax is also charged at just over £126 per tonne.

Local Outrage

Initial efforts to remove the affected dump started in recent weeks amid worries over the risk of blaze and the impact that would have on the nearby A-road.

A contracted waste clearance firm has been awarded the contract to deal with the location over the coming 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An investigations official for the government environmental crime unit commented that the agency would be aiming to recover the clean-up costs under confiscation legislation from any individual successfully found guilty at the end of its ongoing investigation.

She noted that these detentions would help "move the inquiry forward" and permit authorities to "pursue more lines of inquiry to determine in detail what happened and who was involved".

"The unauthorized site at this location was an atrocious and intentional affront on our natural surroundings and we understand the public's frustration at this horrific offence," she said.

A cabinet minister praised the actions, commenting: "The illegal tipping of garbage at the site is utterly appalling and has led to considerable detriment to the natural world and upset to the nearby population.

"The administration is pledged to eradicating this category of criminality throughout the UK, by augmenting resources to tackle waste crime, recruiting more personnel and enacting stricter controls and sanctions for those who violate the rules."

The arrests were executed on the specified day by officers from a specialist serious crime team and are in addition to an previous detention of a 39-year-old from the Surrey region in November. He was set free pending more enquiries.