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A pair of individuals have been arrested as a component of an inquiry into the dumping of thousands of metric tons of rubbish in a rural field in Oxfordshire, England.

Officials stated that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a dwelling in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in Slough in connection with the massive mound of garbage dumped near Kidlington.

These detentions come after a previous revelation which exposed the operation of more than 500 unlawful sites in the country of England, including at minimum 11 so-called "major sites" bigger than 20,000 tons.

A representative for the environmental agency said that the arrests were for ecological and financial offences and represented a "crucial step" in continuing inquiries. Both men have been set free on conditional release.

Scale of the Problem

The tipping ground in near Kidlington, situated between the Cherwell River and the A34 road, is thought to hold around 21,000 tonnes of rubbish in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) high.

This mound of waste is made up of what seems to be processed household waste, chopped up plastic items, expanded polystyrene, tyres and various household objects.

It represents just one of 517 unauthorized dumps in England, at a minimum of 11 of which hold more than 20,000 tonnes of garbage. Such sites include a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The total figure of such major dumps is likely to be larger, as the environmental authority has previously stated it does not possess data on volume for all unauthorized site.

Most sites are in agricultural locations, often hidden, and on land that should be arable land.

Organized Activity

Police report many are run by criminal organizations, who are earning profit by asking for significantly less than licensed companies to accept and landfill waste.

Companies have to be liable for gate fees to use lawful disposal sites, based on the volume and type of refuse they are trying to discard, and a waste tax is also levied at just over £126 per ton.

Community Outrage

Preparatory efforts to clear the Kidlington area location started in recent weeks amid concerns over the threat of blaze and the impact that would have on the close-by major road.

A commercial waste clearance contractor has been awarded the contract to deal with the location over the next 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An investigations officer for the government environment unit commented that the agency would be looking to recoup the clean-up funds under asset recovery legislation from any individual ultimately prosecuted at the conclusion of its current case.

She further stated that the recent arrests would help "drive the inquiry forward" and enable officials to "investigate more leads to ascertain exactly what happened and who was involved".

"This unauthorized site at the site was an shocking and deliberate assault on our natural surroundings and officials understand the community's outrage at this horrific act," she remarked.

A senior minister praised the detentions, stating: "This illegal dumping of garbage at this location is utterly appalling and has resulted in considerable harm to the natural world and distress to the local residents.

"Our administration is dedicated to stamping out this category of criminality in the country, by augmenting funds to tackle environmental crime, recruiting more personnel and enacting tougher measures and sanctions for those who flout the rules."

The detentions were executed on a recent Thursday by officers from a specialist organised crime team and are in addition to an earlier detention of a man in his thirties from the Guildford region in the autumn. He was let go awaiting further investigations.