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Two men have been taken into custody as a component of an inquiry into the dumping of many thousands of tons of refuse in a open field in Oxfordshire, England.

Law enforcement indicated that a 69-year-old was detained at a property in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in the town of Slough in association with the enormous heap of waste dumped near Kidlington.

These arrests come after a recent revelation which revealed the presence of over 500 unlawful tips across the country of England, encompassing at minimum 11 so-called "major sites" larger than 20,000 tonnes.

A official for the environmental body said that the detentions were for environment-related and money laundering crimes and represented a "key step" in continuing probes. The apprehended men have been released on bail.

Magnitude of the Issue

The illegal site in the Kidlington area, situated between the river Cherwell and the A34 highway, is estimated to contain about 21,000 tons of refuse in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) in height.

This pile of rubbish is composed of what appears to be sorted residential refuse, fragmented plastics, expanded polystyrene, tires and various everyday items.

It constitutes just one of 517 illegal dumps in England, at minimum 11 of which hold more than 20,000 tons of rubbish. Such sites feature a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The overall amount of such bigger dumps is probably to be larger, as the regulatory body has earlier stated it does not hold information on weight for all unauthorized dump.

The majority these sites are in agricultural locations, frequently hidden, and on land that is zoned as arable property.

Organized Activity

Police report numerous are operated by organised crime gangs, who are earning profit by charging significantly less than legitimate firms to receive and dispose of waste.

Companies have to incur gate fees to use legitimate disposal sites, depending on the quantity and category of material they are trying to discard, and a disposal levy is also applied at just over £126 per tonne.

Community Frustration

Preparatory operations to remove the affected location started recently amid concerns over the risk of combustion and the effect that would have on the close-by A-road.

A private waste clearance company has been awarded the task to remediate the area over the following 12 months period at a price of £9.6m.

An investigations officer for the national regulatory division said that the authority would be seeking to claim back the clean-up expenses under asset recovery acts from anyone successfully convicted at the end of its current inquiry.

She further stated that the recent detentions would help "push the probe forward" and permit authorities to "pursue more leads to understand exactly what occurred and who was implicated".

"The unlawful site at Kidlington was an shocking and calculated affront on our environment and we share the public's outrage at this terrible crime," she stated.

A government minister welcomed the detentions, adding: "This unlawful dumping of garbage at this location is utterly appalling and has resulted in substantial detriment to the environment and anguish to the surrounding community.

"The authorities is pledged to stamping out this type of crime across the country, by augmenting financing to tackle illegal dumping, employing more staff and enacting tougher checks and penalties for those who violate the rules."

The arrests were executed on Thursday by officers from a specialist serious crime team and come after an previous detention of a 39-year-old from the Surrey area in last November. He was set free pending additional investigations.