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A pair of individuals have been taken into custody as a component of an inquiry into the illegal deposit of many thousands of tonnes of refuse in a rural field in Oxfordshire, England.

Officials reported that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a property in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in Slough in association with the huge mound of waste deposited near the area of Kidlington.

These arrests occur a week after a prior investigation which uncovered the presence of over 500 illegal tips across the country of England, encompassing at least 11 so-called "large-scale sites" greater than 20,000 metric tons.

A representative for the environment authorities said that the detentions were for environmental and financial offences and represented a "key step" in continuing probes. The apprehended men have been set free on bail.

Scale of the Issue

The dump in the Kidlington area, located between the Cherwell River and the A34, is thought to hold around 21,000 tons of waste in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) high.

This heap of rubbish is consists of what looks to be treated domestic waste, fragmented plastic materials, Styrofoam, tyres and various household objects.

It is just one of 517 illegal dumps across England, at minimum 11 of which hold in excess of 20,000 tons of garbage. They feature a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The actual number of such major sites is expected to be higher, as the environment agency has in the past acknowledged it does not possess data on volume for each unlawful tip.

The majority these sites are in countryside settings, frequently out of sight, and on land that is zoned as agricultural property.

Organised Operations

Authorities say numerous are run by organized crime groups, who are making profit by asking for far less than licensed operators to take and bury garbage.

Businesses have to pay gate fees to use legitimate disposal sites, depending on the amount and nature of refuse they are trying to get rid of, and a disposal levy is also applied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Public Anger

Initial work to clean up the Kidlington dump started earlier this month due to fears over the potential of combustion and the consequences that would have on the close-by A-road.

A contracted waste removal company has been granted the job to remediate the location over the coming 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An investigations official for the government environment unit commented that the agency would be seeking to claim back the remediation expenses under confiscation legislation from any individual convicted at the end of its current investigation.

She added that the recent apprehensions would help "drive the probe forward" and enable the agency to "pursue more leads to understand in detail what occurred and who was a party to it".

"The unlawful dump at the site was an shocking and intentional assault on our ecology and we empathize with the community's anger at this egregious crime," she said.

A government minister praised the arrests, commenting: "The unauthorized deposit of rubbish at Kidlington is disgraceful and has resulted in considerable harm to the environment and upset to the surrounding community.

"Our authorities is pledged to eradicating this type of crime throughout the UK, by increasing financing to combat illegal dumping, hiring more personnel and introducing tougher controls and sanctions for those who violate the regulations."

The apprehensions were carried out on Thursday by officers from a specialist crime squad and follow an previous detention of a man in his thirties from the Surrey area in the autumn. He was let go subject to more investigations.