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A pair of individuals have been taken into custody as a component of an probe into the illegal deposit of several thousand of metric tons of rubbish in a field in Oxfordshire.

Authorities stated that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a dwelling in Hampshire's Andover, while a man in his fifties was arrested in the town of Slough in relation with the massive heap of waste deposited near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These detentions come after a recent revelation which uncovered the existence of in excess of 500 unlawful dumps across England, including at least 11 so-called "super sites" greater than 20,000 tons.

A representative for the environmental agency commented that the arrests were for ecological and financial crimes and constituted a "crucial step" in continuing investigations. The two individuals have been set free on bail.

Magnitude of the Issue

The dump in the Kidlington area, situated between the River Cherwell and the A34 road, is believed to hold around 21,000 metric tons of waste in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) high.

This mound of rubbish is composed of what looks to be processed residential rubbish, fragmented plastic items, expanded polystyrene, automobile tires and other household articles.

It is just one of 517 unauthorized dumps across England, at minimum 11 of which hold more than 20,000 tonnes of rubbish. They feature a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in the county of Kent.

The overall figure of such major dumps is probably to be higher, as the regulatory body has earlier acknowledged it does not possess data on tonnage for each illegal tip.

The majority such locations are in rural areas, frequently out of sight, and on land that is zoned as arable property.

Criminal Operations

Police state a significant number are managed by criminal organizations, who are generating profit by asking for much less than licensed firms to accept and bury garbage.

Businesses have to pay gate fees to use legitimate waste facilities, depending on the quantity and category of refuse they are trying to discard, and landfill tax is also levied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Local Anger

Preparation efforts to remove the Kidlington area location began recently amid worries over the risk of blaze and the consequences that would have on the adjacent A-road.

A contracted waste clearance company has been given the contract to remediate the site over the next 12 months period at a cost of £9.6m.

An enforcement official for the government regulatory division commented that the body would be aiming to recoup the clearance costs under proceeds of crime acts from any party ultimately prosecuted at the end of its active investigation.

She added that the recent apprehensions would help "push the inquiry forward" and permit authorities to "follow more lines of inquiry to ascertain exactly what happened and who was involved".

"This illegal site at the site was an appalling and calculated assault on our natural surroundings and the authorities understand the community's anger at this terrible crime," she said.

A government official praised the actions, commenting: "The unlawful dumping of garbage at this location is disgraceful and has led to considerable detriment to the natural world and anguish to the nearby population.

"The administration is pledged to eliminating this category of crime throughout the UK, by boosting resources to tackle illegal dumping, recruiting more staff and enacting tougher controls and penalties for those who flout the regulations."

The detentions were carried out on a recent Thursday by officers from a specialist crime team and are in addition to an prior arrest of a man in his thirties from the Surrey region in the autumn. He was set free pending more inquiries.