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Two men have been taken into custody as part of an inquiry into the illegal deposit of thousands of metric tons of refuse in a rural field in Oxfordshire.

Officials indicated that a 69-year-old was arrested at a property in the town of Andover, while a man in his fifties was detained in Slough, Berkshire in connection with the massive mound of waste deposited near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These arrests occur a week after a previous investigation which revealed the existence of more than 500 illegal dumps in England, including at a minimum of 11 so-called "major sites" larger than 20,000 metric tons.

A representative for the regulatory agency said that the detentions were for environment-related and financial violations and represented a "vital step" in ongoing investigations. The two individuals have been let go on bail.

Scale of the Issue

The dump in the Kidlington area, situated between the river Cherwell and the A34, is thought to hold about 21,000 tons of rubbish in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) tall.

This mound of garbage is made up of what appears to be processed domestic refuse, fragmented plastic materials, polystyrene, automobile tires and other everyday items.

It represents just a single of 517 illegal sites throughout the country, at a minimum of 11 of which are estimated to hold over 20,000 metric tons of rubbish. These include a 280,000-tonne area in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in the county of Kent.

The total amount of such major locations is likely to be greater, as the regulatory agency has in the past indicated it does not hold records on tonnage for every unauthorized tip.

A large proportion of these sites are in countryside areas, typically out of sight, and on land that is intended to be arable land.

Organised Activity

Law enforcement state many are run by criminal organizations, who are making cash by demanding far less than lawful companies to accept and bury waste.

Companies have to be liable for disposal fees to use licensed disposal sites, contingent on the volume and nature of material they are trying to dispose of, and landfill tax is also charged at just over £126 per ton.

Community Outrage

Preparatory work to clear the Kidlington dump commenced in recent weeks due to concerns over the potential of fire and the impact that would have on the adjacent highway.

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

An enforcement manager for the country's environmental crime division commented that the agency would be seeking to recover the clean-up expenses under asset recovery acts from any party successfully prosecuted at the conclusion of its active inquiry.

She added that this week's apprehensions would help "move the probe forward" and enable the agency to "investigate more lines of inquiry to determine exactly what transpired and who was a party to it".

"The illegal tip at the site was an atrocious and calculated assault on our environment and the authorities understand the community's frustration at this horrific offence," she remarked.

A cabinet minister supported the arrests, stating: "The unauthorized deposit of garbage at this location is utterly appalling and has caused significant detriment to the ecology and anguish to the local population.

"Our authorities is dedicated to eradicating this category of crime throughout the nation, by boosting financing to tackle environmental crime, recruiting more officers and implementing more severe checks and sanctions for those who flout the regulations."

The detentions were carried out on the specified day by officers from a regional serious crime unit and follow an prior arrest of a 39-year-old from the Surrey region in last November. He was let go pending more enquiries.