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Two men have been taken into custody as part of an investigation into the tipping of many thousands of tonnes of rubbish in a rural field in Oxfordshire, England.

Authorities stated that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a dwelling in Andover, Hampshire, while a man in his fifties was arrested in Slough in connection with the enormous mound of garbage dumped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These detentions occur a week after a prior investigation which revealed the presence of more than 500 unlawful dumps in the country of England, encompassing at minimum 11 so-called "large-scale sites" larger than 20,000 metric tons.

A representative for the environmental authorities stated that the detentions were for environmental and financial crimes and represented a "key step" in active investigations. The two individuals have been released on bail.

Size of the Problem

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

This heap of garbage is composed of what appears to be treated domestic refuse, fragmented plastic items, Styrofoam, automobile tires and assorted domestic items.

It is just one example of 517 unlawful sites in England, at a minimum of 11 of which are estimated to hold more than 20,000 metric tons of rubbish. They encompass a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in the county of Kent.

The total amount of such bigger dumps is probably to be greater, as the environmental authority has in the past acknowledged it does not hold records on weight for all illegal dump.

The majority sites are in countryside settings, frequently concealed, and on land that should be agricultural ground.

Organised Activity

Police report a significant number are managed by organised crime gangs, who are generating profit by demanding far less than lawful operators to accept and dispose of garbage.

Businesses have to incur disposal fees to use legitimate waste facilities, contingent on the amount and nature of waste they are trying to discard, and a disposal levy is also applied at just over £126 per tonne.

Community Frustration

Preparation efforts to remove the Kidlington area site began recently due to worries over the risk of fire and the effect that would have on the adjacent highway.

A commercial waste removal company has been awarded the task to handle the site over the next 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An compliance manager for the government environmental crime team said that the authority would be looking to claim back the clearance costs under confiscation acts from anyone found guilty at the end of its active inquiry.

She further stated that these detentions would help "move the inquiry forward" and enable the agency to "pursue more leads to understand in detail what transpired and who was involved".

"This unlawful tip at Kidlington was an atrocious and deliberate affront on our ecology and we empathize with the local outrage at this horrific offence," she said.

A cabinet minister supported the detentions, stating: "The unauthorized deposit of waste at this location is disgraceful and has led to significant detriment to the environment and upset to the surrounding residents.

"The government is dedicated to eradicating this kind of crime in the UK, by increasing funds to combat waste crime, recruiting more staff and implementing stricter checks and penalties for those who flout the rules."

The apprehensions were carried out on the specified day by officers from a specialist crime unit and come after an previous arrest of a 39-year-old from the Surrey region in last November. He was released awaiting additional investigations.