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Two men have been taken into custody as an element of an investigation into the illegal deposit of several thousand of tons of waste in a field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement indicated that a man in his late sixties was apprehended at a residence in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in the town of Slough in relation with the enormous pile of waste deposited near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These arrests occur a week after a previous investigation which revealed the presence of in excess of 500 illegal tips in the country of England, including at least 11 so-called "super sites" larger than 20,000 tons.

A representative for the environmental body said that the detentions were for environmental and proceeds of crime crimes and were a "vital step" in active investigations. The apprehended men have been set free on pre-trial release.

Size of the Situation

The tipping ground in Kidlington, positioned between the River Cherwell and the A34, is thought to hold approximately 21,000 tonnes of waste in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) tall.

This pile of garbage is composed of what seems to be sorted residential rubbish, chopped up plastic materials, expanded polystyrene, automobile tires and various domestic items.

It represents just one of 517 illegal tips throughout England, at minimum 11 of which contain in excess of 20,000 tonnes of garbage. Such sites include a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The actual number of such larger sites is probably to be larger, as the environmental authority has in the past acknowledged it does not hold data on weight for every unauthorized tip.

A large proportion of sites are in agricultural locations, typically hidden, and on land that is intended to be arable land.

Criminal Operations

Authorities say many are run by organized crime groups, who are making profit by charging far less than licensed firms to receive and bury waste.

Firms have to be liable for gate fees to use lawful landfill sites, based on the quantity and type of material they are trying to get rid of, and a disposal levy is also applied at just over £126 per tonne.

Public Anger

Preparatory operations to remove the Kidlington location started earlier this month amid concerns over the threat of blaze and the effect that would have on the adjacent highway.

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

An compliance manager for the national regulatory division said that the agency would be aiming to claim back the clearance funds under asset recovery acts from any individual prosecuted at the end of its ongoing inquiry.

She further stated that the recent detentions would help "move the investigation forward" and enable officials to "investigate more leads to determine precisely what occurred and who was a party to it".

"This unauthorized tip at Kidlington was an shocking and intentional assault on our environment and officials empathize with the community's outrage at this horrific crime," she stated.

A cabinet official supported the arrests, commenting: "This unlawful tipping of garbage at this location is disgraceful and has resulted in significant damage to the environment and anguish to the surrounding population.

"Our government is committed to stamping out this category of criminality across the nation, by increasing financing to address waste crime, employing more officers and introducing stricter measures and sanctions for those who flout the rules."

The detentions were carried out on a recent Thursday by personnel from a dedicated crime squad and come after an prior apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area area in last November. He was released pending further investigations.