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Two men have been taken into custody as a component of an probe into the illegal deposit of several thousand of metric tons of refuse in a rural field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Officials stated that a man in his late sixties was detained at a property in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in Slough, Berkshire in relation with the massive mound of garbage tipped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These apprehensions come after a recent report which uncovered the presence of more than 500 unauthorized sites across England, featuring at minimum 11 so-called "super sites" bigger than 20,000 tonnes.

A official for the environment body commented that the detentions were for environment-related and financial offences and represented a "key step" in ongoing investigations. The apprehended men have been set free on conditional release.

Size of the Issue

The illegal site in the Kidlington area, situated between the Cherwell River and the A34, is thought to hold about 21,000 metric tons of refuse in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) high.

This mound of garbage is consists of what appears to be treated residential waste, fragmented plastic materials, Styrofoam, tires and other household objects.

It is just one of 517 unlawful sites across England, at least 11 of which contain more than 20,000 metric tons of garbage. Such sites include a 280,000-tonne area in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in the county of Kent.

The actual number of such larger sites is probably to be higher, as the regulatory authority has in the past indicated it does not possess data on weight for each unlawful tip.

The majority sites are in agricultural locations, typically out of sight, and on land that should be agricultural land.

Organized Enterprise

Police report a significant number are managed by organized crime groups, who are earning profit by charging significantly less than licensed firms to receive and landfill garbage.

Firms have to pay site fees to use legitimate disposal sites, based on the quantity and category of refuse they are trying to get rid of, and a disposal levy is also charged at just over £126 per ton.

Local Outrage

Preparatory work to clean up the Kidlington dump started in recent weeks due to fears over the threat of blaze and the impact that would have on the close-by major road.

A contracted clean-up company has been granted the task to handle the location over the coming 12 months period at a expense of £9.6m.

An investigations officer for the government environmental crime team said that the authority would be seeking to recover the remediation funds under proceeds of crime legislation from any party successfully found guilty at the conclusion of its active case.

She noted that these apprehensions would help "move the inquiry forward" and allow the agency to "pursue more leads to ascertain in detail what occurred and who was involved".

"The illegal site at the site was an appalling and calculated affront on our natural surroundings and the authorities understand the public's anger at this horrific act," she remarked.

A senior representative welcomed the arrests, stating: "This illegal tipping of garbage at this location is disgraceful and has resulted in significant harm to the natural world and upset to the surrounding community.

"Our administration is committed to eradicating this category of crime throughout the country, by augmenting resources to combat waste crime, employing more staff and implementing more severe measures and penalties for those who break the law."

The apprehensions were executed on a recent Thursday by officers from a dedicated organised crime team and come after an previous arrest of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area region in the autumn. He was let go awaiting more investigations.