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Two individuals have been detained as an element of an probe into the illegal deposit of several thousand of metric tons of refuse in a rural field in Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement reported that a 69-year-old was arrested at a dwelling in the town of Andover, while a man in his fifties was detained in the town of Slough in association with the enormous mound of garbage dumped near Kidlington.

These apprehensions come after a prior investigation which revealed the operation of in excess of 500 illegal tips across England, encompassing at minimum 11 so-called "super sites" larger than 20,000 metric tons.

A representative for the regulatory body commented that the apprehensions were for ecological and money laundering crimes and represented a "key step" in active investigations. The two individuals have been released on pre-trial release.

Magnitude of the Issue

The illegal site in the Kidlington area, located between the River Cherwell and the A34 road, is thought to house around 21,000 tonnes of refuse in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) tall.

This pile of waste is made up of what looks to be treated household waste, chopped up plastic items, expanded polystyrene, automobile tires and other household articles.

It is just one example of 517 illegal dumps across the country, at minimum 11 of which contain over 20,000 tons of rubbish. These feature a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in the county of Kent.

The actual figure of such major locations is expected to be greater, as the environmental authority has earlier stated it does not hold information on weight for all unauthorized dump.

A large proportion of sites are in rural locations, typically out of sight, and on land that is intended to be agricultural property.

Organised Activity

Police state numerous are operated by criminal organizations, who are earning profit by demanding much less than lawful operators to receive and landfill rubbish.

Companies have to incur disposal fees to use legitimate landfill sites, depending on the quantity and nature of material they are trying to discard, and a waste tax is also levied at just over £126 per tonne.

Local Frustration

Initial work to clean up the Kidlington area site started in recent weeks following concerns over the potential of blaze and the effect that would have on the adjacent highway.

A contracted waste clearance contractor has been granted the contract to handle the site over the following 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An enforcement officer for the government environmental crime unit said that the authority would be looking to claim back the remediation costs under asset recovery legislation from any individual ultimately convicted at the conclusion of its ongoing investigation.

She added that this week's detentions would help "move the probe forward" and allow officials to "pursue more leads to understand exactly what occurred and who was a party to it".

"This unlawful site at the site was an shocking and calculated affront on our natural surroundings and officials share the community's frustration at this terrible act," she remarked.

A senior minister welcomed the arrests, stating: "This illegal deposit of waste at this location is utterly appalling and has caused considerable detriment to the natural world and upset to the surrounding community.

"The government is committed to stamping out this kind of crime throughout the nation, by augmenting resources to combat environmental crime, recruiting more personnel and enacting stricter controls and sanctions for those who break the rules."

The detentions were carried out on Thursday by agents from a regional crime squad and come after an previous arrest of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area region in November. He was released subject to more investigations.