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A pair of individuals have been taken into custody as part of an investigation into the illegal deposit of several thousand of tonnes of waste in a field in Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement stated that a 69-year-old was arrested at a residence in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in the town of Slough in association with the enormous heap of rubbish dumped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These arrests come after a prior revelation which exposed the existence of in excess of 500 illegal tips in England, encompassing at a minimum of 11 so-called "large-scale sites" larger than 20,000 metric tons.

A representative for the environmental body stated that the detentions were for environmental and financial offences and constituted a "key step" in ongoing probes. The two individuals have been released on conditional release.

Magnitude of the Problem

The dump in the Kidlington area, situated between the river Cherwell and the A34 road, is believed to contain around 21,000 tonnes of rubbish in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) in height.

This heap of garbage is made up of what appears to be sorted domestic waste, shredded plastic items, Styrofoam, tyres and other domestic objects.

It represents just one of 517 illegal dumps throughout England, at a minimum of 11 of which contain more than 20,000 tons of rubbish. They include a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The total number of such larger sites is probably to be greater, as the environment agency has earlier stated it does not maintain records on volume for all unlawful site.

A large proportion of sites are in rural settings, frequently concealed, and on land that should be arable property.

Organised Enterprise

Law enforcement report many are run by organised crime gangs, who are earning profit by charging significantly less than licensed companies to accept and dispose of garbage.

Firms have to pay gate fees to use lawful waste facilities, based on the quantity and type of refuse they are trying to discard, and landfill tax is also charged at just over £126 per metric ton.

Public Frustration

Initial operations to clean up the affected location began earlier this month due to fears over the threat of blaze and the effect that would have on the nearby A-road.

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

An enforcement official for the national regulatory division said that the agency would be looking to claim back the remediation expenses under confiscation legislation from any party ultimately found guilty at the termination of its current inquiry.

She noted that the recent arrests would help "drive the probe forward" and enable authorities to "follow more avenues to understand in detail what happened and who was a party to it".

"The unlawful tip at Kidlington was an shocking and intentional assault on our ecology and officials understand the local frustration at this egregious offence," she remarked.

A senior minister praised the actions, adding: "This unlawful dumping of rubbish at this location is utterly appalling and has caused considerable harm to the natural world and upset to the surrounding population.

"Our administration is dedicated to eliminating this category of criminality across the country, by augmenting funds to combat waste crime, recruiting more personnel and implementing tougher controls and fines for those who flout the regulations."

The detentions were made on Thursday by officers from a dedicated serious crime unit and are in addition to an previous arrest of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area in the autumn. He was let go subject to further enquiries.