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Two individuals have been taken into custody as part of an probe into the illegal deposit of several thousand of tons of refuse in a open field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Authorities reported that a 69-year-old was detained at a residence in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was detained in Slough, Berkshire in connection with the huge heap of waste dumped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These arrests occur a week after a recent investigation which revealed the existence of in excess of 500 illegal dumps throughout the country of England, featuring at minimum 11 so-called "major sites" larger than 20,000 tonnes.

A spokeswoman for the environment body said that the apprehensions were for ecological and money laundering crimes and were a "vital step" in ongoing inquiries. The two individuals have been released on pre-trial release.

Scale of the Problem

The illegal site in Kidlington, positioned between the Cherwell River and the A34 highway, is believed to house about 21,000 metric tons of refuse in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) tall.

This pile of rubbish is made up of what seems to be processed domestic refuse, fragmented plastic materials, Styrofoam, tires and various domestic objects.

It constitutes just one example of 517 unauthorized dumps throughout England, at minimum 11 of which hold over 20,000 tonnes of waste. These feature a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in the county of Kent.

The total amount of such larger sites is expected to be higher, as the regulatory body has earlier stated it does not possess data on weight for every unauthorized tip.

A large proportion of sites are in countryside settings, typically hidden, and on land that is intended to be agricultural property.

Organized Operations

Law enforcement say many are run by organized crime groups, who are earning money by charging far less than legitimate operators to receive and bury garbage.

Firms have to incur disposal fees to use legitimate landfill sites, depending on the quantity and nature of refuse they are trying to discard, and landfill tax is also levied at just over £126 per tonne.

Local Anger

Preparation work to clean up the affected location commenced recently following fears over the risk of fire and the consequences that would have on the close-by major road.

A private waste removal company has been granted the contract to deal with the site over the following 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An investigations officer for the country's environmental crime unit commented that the agency would be seeking to recoup the clearance expenses under asset recovery laws from any party convicted at the end of its ongoing case.

She noted that these arrests would help "push the investigation forward" and allow officials to "pursue more avenues to determine in detail what occurred and who was involved".

"The illegal dump at this location was an appalling and deliberate assault on our environment and the authorities understand the community's outrage at this egregious crime," she stated.

A senior representative praised the detentions, stating: "The unauthorized dumping of rubbish at Kidlington is disgraceful and has led to considerable harm to the environment and distress to the nearby residents.

"Our administration is pledged to eradicating this kind of crime in the country, by boosting funds to combat environmental crime, hiring more staff and implementing stricter controls and penalties for those who violate the regulations."

The detentions were carried out on a recent Thursday by officers from a dedicated crime squad and come after an previous detention of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area region in last November. He was set free pending further investigations.