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Two men have been detained as a component of an investigation into the illegal deposit of many thousands of tons of refuse in a field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Officials reported that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a dwelling in Andover, Hampshire, while a man in his fifties was detained in Slough in relation with the massive heap of garbage dumped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These detentions come after a recent investigation which exposed the presence of in excess of 500 illegal sites in England, encompassing at minimum 11 so-called "super sites" bigger than 20,000 metric tons.

A official for the environmental agency commented that the arrests were for environmental and money laundering offences and were a "crucial step" in ongoing investigations. The two individuals have been set free on pre-trial release.

Magnitude of the Situation

The illegal site in the Kidlington area, positioned between the Cherwell River and the A34, is estimated to house around 21,000 tonnes of waste in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) high.

This pile of rubbish is made up of what looks to be sorted residential rubbish, shredded plastics, Styrofoam, tires and other domestic articles.

It constitutes just one of 517 illegal tips across England, at least 11 of which hold more than 20,000 metric tons of garbage. Such sites feature a 280,000-tonne area in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The actual amount of such major sites is probably to be higher, as the environmental agency has in the past stated it does not hold data on tonnage for each unlawful site.

Most such locations are in rural locations, typically out of sight, and on land that is zoned as arable land.

Organized Operations

Law enforcement report numerous are managed by organized crime groups, who are making money by asking for far less than lawful companies to take and dispose of waste.

Companies have to be liable for site fees to use lawful landfill sites, based on the quantity and nature of refuse they are trying to discard, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per tonne.

Public Outrage

Preparatory operations to clean up the Kidlington location began earlier this month due to concerns over the risk of fire and the impact that would have on the adjacent major road.

A private waste clearance firm has been granted the task to handle the location over the following 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An compliance official for the government environment division said that the authority would be looking to recoup the clearance funds under confiscation acts from any individual convicted at the termination of its current inquiry.

She noted that this week's detentions would help "drive the inquiry forward" and enable officials to "investigate more avenues to understand precisely what transpired and who was a party to it".

"The unauthorized tip at Kidlington was an shocking and calculated assault on our ecology and the authorities share the community's outrage at this terrible act," she said.

A cabinet official welcomed the actions, commenting: "This unlawful tipping of garbage at the site is appalling and has caused considerable damage to the environment and anguish to the nearby population.

"Our authorities is pledged to eradicating this kind of criminality across the country, by boosting funds to address illegal dumping, employing more officers and implementing more severe measures and sanctions for those who break the law."

The apprehensions were made on a recent Thursday by officers from a dedicated serious crime team and are in addition to an earlier detention of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area region in the autumn. He was let go subject to additional inquiries.