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Two men have been taken into custody as an element of an probe into the illegal deposit of many thousands of metric tons of rubbish in a field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement stated that a 69-year-old was detained at a residence in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in Slough in relation with the enormous mound of garbage deposited near Kidlington.

These apprehensions occur a week after a previous investigation which revealed the presence of over 500 illegal sites throughout England, including at least 11 so-called "major sites" greater than 20,000 tonnes.

A representative for the environmental body stated that the detentions were for ecological and money laundering crimes and constituted a "key step" in active inquiries. Both men have been let go on conditional release.

Scale of the Problem

The dump in Kidlington, situated between the River Cherwell and the A34, is thought to house approximately 21,000 tonnes of rubbish in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) in height.

This pile of waste is made up of what seems to be processed domestic waste, fragmented plastic materials, expanded polystyrene, tyres and other everyday objects.

It constitutes just one example of 517 unauthorized tips across the country, at a minimum of 11 of which contain over 20,000 tons of waste. Such sites feature a 280,000-tonne site in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The total amount of such bigger locations is probably to be higher, as the regulatory body has in the past acknowledged it does not hold data on weight for each illegal dump.

The majority sites are in countryside areas, often hidden, and on land that is intended to be farm property.

Organized Activity

Police state a significant number are operated by organised crime gangs, who are making cash by asking for significantly less than legitimate companies to accept and bury garbage.

Businesses have to pay site fees to use legitimate landfill sites, based on the amount and type of refuse they are trying to get rid of, and landfill tax is also applied at just over £126 per tonne.

Public Frustration

Preparation efforts to remove the Kidlington location began in recent weeks amid fears over the risk of fire and the impact that would have on the nearby A-road.

A contracted waste clearance firm has been awarded the contract to handle the location over the following 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An investigations officer for the national environment division stated that the agency would be seeking to recover the clean-up expenses under confiscation acts from anyone successfully found guilty at the end of its current investigation.

She noted that these apprehensions would help "move the investigation forward" and enable authorities to "follow more leads to determine exactly what happened and who was a party to it".

"This unlawful dump at this location was an appalling and intentional assault on our natural surroundings and officials share the community's outrage at this egregious act," she remarked.

A government minister welcomed the actions, adding: "The illegal dumping of garbage at Kidlington is disgraceful and has resulted in significant damage to the natural world and anguish to the surrounding population.

"Our government is committed to eliminating this category of illegal activity throughout the UK, by augmenting funds to tackle waste crime, recruiting more personnel and enacting stricter controls and penalties for those who violate the regulations."

The detentions were made on the specified day by officers from a regional serious crime squad and come after an earlier arrest of a 39-year-old from the Guildford region in last November. He was set free subject to additional inquiries.