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Two individuals have been arrested as an element of an probe into the illegal deposit of thousands of tonnes of waste in a rural field in Oxfordshire, England.

Authorities stated that a 69-year-old was detained at a property in Andover, Hampshire, while a man in his fifties was taken into custody in Slough, Berkshire in relation with the huge mound of garbage dumped near Kidlington.

These apprehensions come after a prior report which uncovered the existence of over 500 unauthorized dumps in the country of England, including at least 11 so-called "super sites" larger than 20,000 tonnes.

A representative for the environmental agency commented that the arrests were for environment-related and money laundering violations and were a "crucial step" in ongoing probes. Both men have been let go on bail.

Scale of the Situation

The illegal site in Kidlington, situated between the river Cherwell and the A34 highway, is thought to hold around 21,000 metric tons of rubbish in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) in height.

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

It represents just one of 517 illegal sites in England, at least 11 of which are estimated to hold more than 20,000 metric tons of rubbish. They feature a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in the county of Kent.

The actual number of such larger locations is expected to be larger, as the regulatory body has earlier indicated it does not hold data on tonnage for all unlawful dump.

The majority such locations are in agricultural settings, often concealed, and on land that should be agricultural land.

Organised Enterprise

Law enforcement say a significant number are run by organised crime gangs, who are making profit by demanding significantly less than licensed firms to receive and dispose of garbage.

Businesses have to pay gate fees to use lawful landfill sites, depending on the amount and nature of material they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per ton.

Community Anger

Preparation work to remove the Kidlington area location commenced recently amid fears over the threat of blaze and the consequences that would have on the adjacent highway.

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

An investigations officer for the country's environment division stated that the agency would be looking to recoup the remediation expenses under proceeds of crime acts from any party prosecuted at the end of its current investigation.

She further stated that the recent detentions would help "drive the investigation forward" and enable officials to "pursue more leads to determine exactly what transpired and who was a party to it".

"This unlawful dump at this location was an shocking and intentional affront on our environment and officials understand the public's anger at this terrible offence," she remarked.

A government minister supported the detentions, adding: "This unlawful dumping of garbage at Kidlington is disgraceful and has caused substantial harm to the environment and upset to the local community.

"The authorities is committed to eliminating this kind of criminality throughout the nation, by boosting resources to address environmental crime, recruiting more staff and introducing more severe measures and penalties for those who flout the law."

The arrests were executed on the specified day by agents from a specialist crime unit and are in addition to an previous arrest of a man in his thirties from the Surrey region in last November. He was released subject to additional inquiries.