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Two individuals have been taken into custody as an element of an investigation into the dumping of thousands of tons of rubbish in a field in Oxfordshire, England.

Authorities reported that a man in his late sixties was detained at a dwelling in the town of Andover, while a man in his fifties was taken into custody in Slough, Berkshire in connection with the huge mound of waste deposited near Kidlington.

These arrests follow a recent investigation which revealed the operation of over 500 unauthorized sites across England, encompassing at a minimum of 11 so-called "super sites" greater than 20,000 metric tons.

A spokeswoman for the environment authorities commented that the detentions were for environment-related and proceeds of crime violations and were a "key step" in ongoing investigations. The apprehended men have been released on bail.

Magnitude of the Situation

The illegal site in the Kidlington area, located between the River Cherwell and the A34 highway, is thought to house around 21,000 metric tons of rubbish in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) tall.

This pile of waste is composed of what appears to be processed domestic rubbish, fragmented plastics, polystyrene, tyres and assorted domestic items.

It is just one example of 517 illegal tips in England, at minimum 11 of which contain more than 20,000 tons of garbage. They include a 280,000-tonne area in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The actual figure of such major dumps is probably to be larger, as the environment authority has previously acknowledged it does not hold information on tonnage for each illegal dump.

The majority such locations are in countryside settings, often concealed, and on land that is intended to be arable land.

Organised Enterprise

Law enforcement say a significant number are managed by organised crime gangs, who are generating money by demanding significantly less than legitimate companies to take and dispose of rubbish.

Businesses have to incur gate fees to use legitimate disposal sites, depending on the amount and type of refuse they are trying to discard, and landfill tax is also applied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Local Anger

Initial operations to remove the affected dump commenced recently following worries over the threat of blaze and the effect that would have on the nearby highway.

A commercial waste clearance company has been granted the task to handle the location over the coming 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An enforcement manager for the country's environment unit stated that the authority would be seeking to claim back the clearance funds under proceeds of crime acts from any individual found guilty at the conclusion of its active investigation.

She further stated that the recent apprehensions would help "move the probe forward" and allow the agency to "investigate more lines of inquiry to ascertain in detail what happened and who was a party to it".

"The illegal dump at the site was an appalling and deliberate affront on our natural surroundings and the authorities share the local frustration at this egregious act," she remarked.

A senior representative welcomed the actions, adding: "The illegal dumping of waste at this location is utterly appalling and has caused considerable damage to the environment and upset to the nearby residents.

"Our administration is pledged to eradicating this category of criminality across the nation, by augmenting funds to tackle waste crime, hiring more staff and introducing tougher controls and penalties for those who break the regulations."

The arrests were executed on Thursday by agents from a dedicated organised crime team and are in addition to an previous apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area area in the autumn. He was let go pending additional inquiries.