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A pair of individuals have been arrested as an element of an investigation into the tipping of several thousand of metric tons of waste in a rural field in Oxfordshire, England.

Law enforcement indicated that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a dwelling in Hampshire's Andover, while a man in his fifties was taken into custody in the town of Slough in connection with the enormous pile of waste dumped near Kidlington.

These apprehensions occur a week after a recent investigation which exposed the operation of over 500 unlawful dumps across the country of England, featuring at minimum 11 so-called "super sites" bigger than 20,000 metric tons.

A official for the environmental agency said that the apprehensions were for environmental and financial offences and constituted a "crucial step" in active probes. The apprehended men have been let go on pre-trial release.

Magnitude of the Problem

The tipping ground in the Kidlington area, situated between the Cherwell River and the A34 road, is thought to hold around 21,000 tons of refuse in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) tall.

This pile of rubbish is made up of what looks to be treated household waste, shredded plastic items, expanded polystyrene, tyres and other everyday objects.

It represents just one example of 517 unauthorized tips in England, at a minimum of 11 of which hold over 20,000 tons of rubbish. They feature a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The actual amount of such larger dumps is likely to be higher, as the regulatory agency has in the past indicated it does not possess information on tonnage for each illegal tip.

The majority sites are in rural settings, frequently out of sight, and on land that is zoned as arable property.

Criminal Enterprise

Police report many are managed by organized crime groups, who are generating profit by demanding significantly less than licensed firms to accept and dispose of garbage.

Firms have to incur gate fees to use lawful waste facilities, contingent on the amount and category of waste they are trying to get rid of, and a disposal levy is also charged at just over £126 per tonne.

Community Frustration

Preparation operations to clean up the Kidlington location commenced earlier this month following worries over the potential of blaze and the impact that would have on the close-by major road.

A private waste clearance company has been awarded the job to remediate the site over the next 12 months period at a expense of £9.6m.

An compliance manager for the government regulatory division stated that the body would be seeking to recoup the remediation funds under asset recovery legislation from anyone convicted at the termination of its ongoing case.

She noted that this week's apprehensions would help "push the inquiry forward" and allow officials to "follow more avenues to ascertain exactly what transpired and who was implicated".

"This unlawful site at the site was an atrocious and calculated attack on our ecology and the authorities share the community's frustration at this terrible crime," she remarked.

A cabinet official supported the actions, stating: "The unauthorized deposit of rubbish at the site is appalling and has resulted in considerable harm to the ecology and anguish to the local community.

"The authorities is committed to eradicating this kind of crime throughout the nation, by augmenting financing to tackle waste crime, employing more staff and enacting more severe checks and sanctions for those who violate the regulations."

The detentions were carried out on the specified day by personnel from a regional crime team and come after an earlier apprehension of a man in his thirties from the Guildford region in November. He was set free pending additional investigations.