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

Law enforcement indicated that a man in his late sixties was detained at a residence in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was detained in the town of Slough in relation with the huge pile of waste dumped near Kidlington.

These detentions follow a recent report which exposed the existence of over 500 illegal tips in the country of England, featuring at least 11 so-called "large-scale sites" larger than 20,000 tons.

A official for the regulatory authorities commented that the apprehensions were for environment-related and financial violations and were a "key step" in ongoing probes. The apprehended men have been released on conditional release.

Scale of the Problem

The tipping ground in near Kidlington, located between the river Cherwell and the A34 road, is believed to house about 21,000 tons of rubbish in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) tall.

This pile of rubbish is made up of what looks to be sorted domestic refuse, chopped up plastics, polystyrene, tires and assorted domestic objects.

It constitutes just a single of 517 unauthorized sites across the country, at least 11 of which are estimated to hold in excess of 20,000 metric tons of rubbish. They encompass a 280,000-tonne area in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in the county of Kent.

The actual figure of such major sites is likely to be higher, as the environment authority has in the past stated it does not maintain data on volume for each unlawful tip.

Most such locations are in agricultural areas, frequently hidden, and on land that is intended to be agricultural property.

Organized Operations

Police report numerous are operated by organized crime groups, who are making cash by demanding far less than licensed operators to accept and landfill garbage.

Companies have to be liable for gate fees to use licensed waste facilities, contingent on the amount and category of refuse they are trying to dispose of, and landfill tax is also levied at just over £126 per tonne.

Local Frustration

Preparation work to remove the Kidlington location commenced earlier this month amid fears over the potential of blaze and the impact that would have on the adjacent A-road.

A commercial clean-up contractor has been given the task to handle the site over the following 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An investigations manager for the government environment team stated that the agency would be seeking to claim back the remediation expenses under asset recovery legislation from any individual ultimately prosecuted at the termination of its active inquiry.

She further stated that these arrests would help "move the probe forward" and permit the agency to "follow more lines of inquiry to ascertain precisely what transpired and who was a party to it".

"The illegal tip at the site was an shocking and calculated attack on our ecology and the authorities understand the local frustration at this terrible offence," she remarked.

A senior minister praised the actions, stating: "This unauthorized dumping of garbage at the site is appalling and has led to significant harm to the ecology and distress to the local residents.

"The government is pledged to eliminating this kind of criminality across the nation, by augmenting resources to combat waste crime, employing more personnel and implementing tougher controls and fines for those who break the law."

The arrests were made on a recent Thursday by agents from a specialist crime unit and come after an earlier apprehension of a man in his thirties from the Surrey area in November. He was let go pending more enquiries.