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

Authorities stated that a man in his late sixties was detained at a residence in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in Slough in association with the enormous mound of waste tipped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These apprehensions come after a recent revelation which exposed the presence of in excess of 500 unlawful dumps throughout the country of England, encompassing at minimum 11 so-called "major sites" greater than 20,000 tons.

A official for the regulatory agency said that the arrests were for environment-related and financial crimes and represented a "key step" in ongoing inquiries. The apprehended men have been set free on conditional release.

Scale of the Issue

The tipping ground in near Kidlington, situated between the river Cherwell and the A34 road, is thought to contain around 21,000 tonnes of rubbish in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) in height.

This heap of waste is consists of what looks to be sorted domestic refuse, fragmented plastic materials, polystyrene, tyres and various household items.

It constitutes just a single of 517 unauthorized sites across the country, at least 11 of which are estimated to hold over 20,000 metric tons of rubbish. They include a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The overall amount of such larger locations is probably to be higher, as the environment agency has previously stated it does not maintain records on volume for each unlawful dump.

The majority such locations are in agricultural areas, often out of sight, and on land that is intended to be farm land.

Organised Operations

Authorities state numerous are operated by organized crime groups, who are generating money by asking for significantly less than lawful companies to accept and dispose of garbage.

Companies have to be liable for gate fees to use lawful landfill sites, based on the amount and category of material they are trying to get rid of, and landfill tax is also levied at just over £126 per ton.

Community Outrage

Preparatory operations to remove the affected site commenced recently amid concerns over the risk of blaze and the consequences that would have on the nearby major road.

A private waste removal contractor has been granted the task to remediate the site over the coming 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An compliance manager for the national environmental crime unit said that the authority would be aiming to claim back the clean-up expenses under confiscation legislation from anyone successfully convicted at the end of its ongoing case.

She further stated that this week's apprehensions would help "move the investigation forward" and allow the agency to "follow more lines of inquiry to ascertain precisely what happened and who was implicated".

"This unauthorized dump at the site was an appalling and intentional assault on our environment and the authorities empathize with the local anger at this egregious crime," she said.

A cabinet official praised the detentions, commenting: "The unlawful dumping of garbage at the site is disgraceful and has caused substantial harm to the natural world and distress to the surrounding community.

"The government is committed to stamping out this kind of crime across the country, by boosting financing to tackle illegal dumping, employing more officers and implementing tougher checks and penalties for those who violate the law."

The apprehensions were executed on Thursday by personnel from a dedicated crime squad and follow an previous detention of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area in November. He was set free awaiting further inquiries.