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Two men have been taken into custody as a component of an probe into the tipping of thousands of metric tons of refuse in a rural field in Oxfordshire, England.

Officials reported that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a property in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in Slough in relation with the enormous pile of rubbish tipped near Kidlington.

These arrests follow a previous revelation which exposed the existence of more than 500 unlawful dumps across England, including at least 11 so-called "large-scale sites" greater than 20,000 metric tons.

A representative for the environmental agency stated that the arrests were for environmental and financial crimes and represented a "crucial step" in continuing probes. Both men have been set free on pre-trial release.

Size of the Situation

The dump in the Kidlington area, situated between the Cherwell River and the A34 highway, is estimated to house about 21,000 tons of waste in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) tall.

This mound of garbage is composed of what seems to be sorted domestic waste, chopped up plastics, Styrofoam, tyres and other household articles.

It constitutes just one example of 517 illegal sites across England, at a minimum of 11 of which contain over 20,000 tons of waste. They encompass a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The total number of such larger sites is probably to be larger, as the regulatory body has earlier stated it does not possess data on tonnage for all unauthorized tip.

Most sites are in agricultural settings, often out of sight, and on land that is zoned as arable ground.

Criminal Activity

Police report numerous are operated by criminal organizations, who are earning cash by asking for significantly less than licensed companies to take and landfill garbage.

Firms have to incur gate fees to use lawful landfill sites, contingent on the quantity and nature of waste they are trying to dispose of, and landfill tax is also charged at just over £126 per tonne.

Public Frustration

Preparation efforts to clean up the affected location began recently due to concerns over the risk of fire and the consequences that would have on the close-by A-road.

A private waste clearance firm has been awarded the contract to deal with the area over the following 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An investigations officer for the government environmental crime team said that the agency would be looking to recover the remediation funds under proceeds of crime legislation from anyone found guilty at the conclusion of its ongoing case.

She noted that these detentions would help "drive the investigation forward" and permit officials to "pursue more leads to ascertain in detail what happened and who was a party to it".

"This unlawful dump at Kidlington was an appalling and calculated assault on our environment and we empathize with the local anger at this terrible act," she remarked.

A government representative praised the arrests, commenting: "This illegal deposit of garbage at the site is utterly appalling and has caused significant damage to the ecology and anguish to the local population.

"Our government is committed to eradicating this type of illegal activity across the country, by increasing resources to address waste crime, employing more staff and implementing tougher measures and fines for those who flout the regulations."

The apprehensions were carried out on Thursday by personnel from a regional serious crime unit and are in addition to an prior arrest of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area in last November. He was let go pending more inquiries.