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Two individuals have been detained as a component of an inquiry into the dumping of several thousand of tonnes of refuse in a rural field in Oxfordshire, England.

Law enforcement stated that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a residence in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in the town of Slough in connection with the massive heap of waste dumped near Kidlington.

These apprehensions come after a prior report which revealed the operation of in excess of 500 unlawful tips throughout England, including at least 11 so-called "major sites" larger than 20,000 metric tons.

A representative for the environment authorities commented that the detentions were for environmental and financial violations and constituted a "vital step" in active inquiries. The two individuals have been let go on pre-trial release.

Size of the Issue

The tipping ground in the Kidlington area, situated between the Cherwell River and the A34 road, is believed to house approximately 21,000 metric tons of rubbish in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) high.

This pile of rubbish is consists of what appears to be processed residential refuse, fragmented plastic items, polystyrene, tyres and assorted domestic items.

It is just one of 517 illegal tips in the country, at a minimum of 11 of which are estimated to hold in excess of 20,000 tonnes of rubbish. Such sites encompass a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The actual number of such bigger locations is probably to be greater, as the environmental authority has previously acknowledged it does not maintain information on volume for all unauthorized dump.

The majority sites are in agricultural settings, frequently out of sight, and on land that is zoned as farm ground.

Organized Enterprise

Police state a significant number are operated by organised crime gangs, who are generating cash by demanding significantly less than lawful firms to take and landfill garbage.

Companies have to be liable for gate fees to use licensed waste facilities, depending on the volume and type of refuse they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per ton.

Community Frustration

Preparation efforts to clean up the Kidlington area location commenced earlier this month due to worries over the risk of combustion and the effect that would have on the nearby highway.

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

An enforcement manager for the government environment division said that the body would be looking to claim back the remediation expenses under confiscation legislation from anyone found guilty at the end of its active case.

She further stated that this week's apprehensions would help "push the investigation forward" and enable the agency to "follow more lines of inquiry to understand exactly what transpired and who was a party to it".

"This unlawful tip at Kidlington was an shocking and intentional attack on our natural surroundings and we understand the community's anger at this terrible offence," she said.

A senior representative supported the detentions, stating: "The illegal tipping of waste at this location is disgraceful and has caused significant harm to the ecology and distress to the local community.

"Our administration is pledged to stamping out this category of criminality in the nation, by augmenting financing to tackle environmental crime, hiring more personnel and introducing tougher controls and penalties for those who violate the regulations."

The detentions were carried out on Thursday by officers from a dedicated serious crime unit and come after an earlier apprehension of a man in his thirties from the Surrey region in November. He was released subject to more investigations.