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Two men have been arrested as an element of an probe into the illegal deposit of many thousands of tonnes of rubbish in a rural field in Oxfordshire, England.

Law enforcement reported that a man in his late sixties was detained at a residence in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was arrested in Slough in connection with the enormous pile of waste deposited near Kidlington.

These detentions follow a recent revelation which revealed the presence of in excess of 500 unlawful dumps in the country of England, encompassing at minimum 11 so-called "super sites" bigger than 20,000 tons.

A spokeswoman for the environment authorities stated that the detentions were for environmental and money laundering crimes and were a "vital step" in active inquiries. Both men have been set free on bail.

Scale of the Situation

The tipping ground in near Kidlington, located between the Cherwell River and the A34, is believed to house about 21,000 tons of waste in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) tall.

This pile of garbage is composed of what appears to be treated household rubbish, chopped up plastics, Styrofoam, tyres and assorted household articles.

It is just a single of 517 illegal sites in England, at minimum 11 of which hold over 20,000 tons of rubbish. Such sites include a 280,000-tonne area in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The overall number of such larger dumps is probably to be higher, as the environment body has in the past indicated it does not possess records on tonnage for each unlawful site.

The majority such locations are in agricultural locations, typically hidden, and on land that is zoned as farm ground.

Criminal Activity

Law enforcement state a significant number are managed by organised crime gangs, who are generating cash by demanding far less than lawful operators to accept and landfill waste.

Firms have to be liable for disposal fees to use lawful waste facilities, depending on the amount and category of refuse they are trying to discard, and a waste tax is also levied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Community Anger

Initial operations to clean up the Kidlington area location started earlier this month due to fears over the potential of fire and the consequences that would have on the close-by major road.

A private clean-up company has been awarded the job to deal with the area over the next 12 months period at a cost of £9.6m.

An compliance officer for the national environmental crime division said that the body would be looking to claim back the remediation expenses under confiscation legislation from any individual ultimately convicted at the end of its active inquiry.

She further stated that the recent apprehensions would help "move the probe forward" and allow the agency to "follow more leads to understand precisely what transpired and who was involved".

"The unauthorized dump at this location was an shocking and intentional assault on our natural surroundings and officials understand the local anger at this horrific offence," she said.

A cabinet minister welcomed the detentions, adding: "This illegal deposit of garbage at the site is utterly appalling and has caused significant harm to the ecology and upset to the nearby population.

"Our authorities is committed to eliminating this category of illegal activity across the country, by increasing funds to tackle illegal dumping, hiring more staff and enacting more severe measures and penalties for those who break the rules."

The detentions were carried out on the specified day by agents from a regional serious crime team and follow an prior apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area region in last November. He was let go awaiting more inquiries.