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Two individuals have been taken into custody as an element of an probe into the dumping of thousands of tons of waste in a open field in Oxfordshire, England.

Law enforcement indicated that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a residence in Andover, Hampshire, while a man in his fifties was detained in the town of Slough in relation with the massive pile of rubbish deposited near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These apprehensions follow a previous revelation which exposed the operation of over 500 illegal tips across England, encompassing at minimum 11 so-called "super sites" larger than 20,000 metric tons.

A spokeswoman for the regulatory body said that the arrests were for ecological and proceeds of crime violations and were a "crucial step" in ongoing probes. The apprehended men have been released on conditional release.

Size of the Issue

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

This heap of rubbish is composed of what seems to be sorted domestic rubbish, shredded plastics, Styrofoam, tires and assorted everyday objects.

It constitutes just one example of 517 unlawful sites throughout England, at least 11 of which are estimated to hold over 20,000 tons of waste. They feature a 280,000-tonne site in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in the county of Kent.

The actual amount of such larger sites is probably to be greater, as the environmental agency has in the past indicated it does not hold information on weight for all unlawful site.

The majority such locations are in rural settings, frequently concealed, and on land that is intended to be arable land.

Organised Activity

Law enforcement say a significant number are managed by criminal organizations, who are making money by charging much less than licensed companies to accept and dispose of waste.

Firms have to incur disposal fees to use lawful landfill sites, depending on the volume and type of material they are trying to dispose of, and landfill tax is also levied at just over £126 per ton.

Community Frustration

Initial operations to clean up the Kidlington area dump started earlier this month amid fears over the potential of fire and the effect that would have on the nearby major road.

A contracted waste clearance firm has been awarded the job to handle the location over the following 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An compliance official for the national regulatory team commented that the authority would be aiming to recoup the remediation costs under confiscation legislation from anyone successfully prosecuted at the conclusion of its ongoing investigation.

She noted that the recent arrests would help "drive the probe forward" and permit authorities to "follow more lines of inquiry to understand exactly what happened and who was a party to it".

"This unlawful site at this location was an atrocious and intentional attack on our environment and the authorities empathize with the local outrage at this terrible act," she remarked.

A senior official welcomed the arrests, adding: "This unauthorized deposit of garbage at the site is disgraceful and has led to considerable harm to the ecology and upset to the nearby population.

"Our government is dedicated to stamping out this type of criminality in the UK, by boosting resources to tackle environmental crime, employing more personnel and enacting tougher measures and fines for those who violate the regulations."

The arrests were made on the specified day by agents from a specialist crime unit and are in addition to an previous apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Surrey region in last November. He was set free awaiting further enquiries.