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Two men have been taken into custody as an element of an inquiry into the illegal deposit of several thousand of metric tons of waste in a field in Oxfordshire, England.

Officials stated that a man in his late sixties was arrested at a property in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in Slough in connection with the massive mound of waste dumped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These arrests occur a week after a previous report which exposed the operation of more than 500 unlawful sites in England, featuring at least 11 so-called "major sites" greater than 20,000 tons.

A spokeswoman for the regulatory authorities said that the apprehensions were for environment-related and money laundering offences and were a "vital step" in continuing probes. The two individuals have been let go on pre-trial release.

Scale of the Issue

The tipping ground in Kidlington, located between the Cherwell River and the A34, is estimated to hold around 21,000 metric tons of rubbish in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) tall.

This pile of garbage is composed of what appears to be treated residential waste, chopped up plastic items, expanded polystyrene, tires and assorted household objects.

It represents just a single of 517 unlawful dumps throughout England, at minimum 11 of which contain more than 20,000 metric tons of waste. These encompass a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire county and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The actual amount of such larger dumps is probably to be greater, as the environment agency has previously indicated it does not maintain records on weight for every unlawful site.

A large proportion of such locations are in countryside settings, frequently concealed, and on land that is zoned as farm property.

Organized Activity

Law enforcement say a significant number are operated by criminal organizations, who are earning cash by charging far less than lawful operators to receive and bury rubbish.

Companies have to be liable for gate fees to use lawful waste facilities, based on the amount and nature of material they are trying to dispose of, and landfill tax is also charged at just over £126 per tonne.

Local Anger

Initial efforts to clear the Kidlington site commenced recently due to fears over the potential of combustion and the effect that would have on the close-by highway.

A commercial clean-up company has been granted the job to handle the area over the following 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An investigations official for the country's regulatory team said that the authority would be aiming to claim back the clean-up expenses under confiscation laws from any individual convicted at the termination of its ongoing inquiry.

She further stated that these apprehensions would help "drive the inquiry forward" and permit the agency to "pursue more lines of inquiry to determine exactly what transpired and who was a party to it".

"The unauthorized site at Kidlington was an appalling and deliberate affront on our ecology and we share the local outrage at this terrible offence," she said.

A cabinet minister welcomed the actions, stating: "The unauthorized tipping of rubbish at this location is appalling and has resulted in substantial harm to the ecology and anguish to the surrounding residents.

"The authorities is dedicated to stamping out this type of criminality in the UK, by increasing financing to tackle environmental crime, recruiting more officers and introducing more severe checks and penalties for those who flout the rules."

The apprehensions were executed on Thursday by agents from a specialist serious crime squad and come after an earlier detention of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area region in November. He was released awaiting more inquiries.