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Two men have been detained as part of an investigation into the illegal deposit of several thousand of tonnes of refuse in a open field in Oxfordshire, England.

Law enforcement reported that a man in his late sixties was arrested at a property in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in Slough in association with the massive pile of garbage dumped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These apprehensions follow a recent report which exposed the existence of in excess of 500 unlawful dumps in England, encompassing at a minimum of 11 so-called "major sites" larger than 20,000 metric tons.

A official for the environmental body said that the arrests were for environment-related and money laundering crimes and constituted a "vital step" in active inquiries. Both men have been let go on bail.

Magnitude of the Situation

The tipping ground in Kidlington, positioned between the river Cherwell and the A34 road, is believed to house around 21,000 tons of waste in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) high.

This heap of rubbish is consists of what seems to be sorted domestic rubbish, fragmented plastic items, Styrofoam, tires and other everyday articles.

It constitutes just a single of 517 unauthorized tips throughout the country, at a minimum of 11 of which are estimated to hold more than 20,000 tons of rubbish. They encompass a 280,000-tonne area in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in the county of Kent.

The overall figure of such larger dumps is likely to be greater, as the regulatory authority has previously acknowledged it does not maintain information on volume for each unauthorized dump.

The majority these sites are in countryside areas, typically concealed, and on land that is zoned as farm ground.

Organised Enterprise

Police report a significant number are managed by organized crime groups, who are earning profit by demanding significantly less than lawful operators to take and dispose of waste.

Firms have to pay gate fees to use licensed disposal sites, contingent on the volume and category of material they are trying to dispose of, and landfill tax is also charged at just over £126 per tonne.

Community Outrage

Preparatory work to clear the affected site started recently amid fears over the threat of blaze and the effect that would have on the close-by highway.

A contracted clean-up company has been given the contract to handle the area over the following 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An enforcement officer for the country's regulatory division commented that the agency would be looking to recoup the clean-up expenses under confiscation legislation from any individual found guilty at the end of its active investigation.

She noted that this week's detentions would help "drive the inquiry forward" and enable authorities to "investigate more lines of inquiry to understand in detail what transpired and who was a party to it".

"This unauthorized site at Kidlington was an appalling and deliberate assault on our natural surroundings and the authorities empathize with the community's frustration at this terrible offence," she said.

A cabinet representative supported the actions, stating: "The unauthorized tipping of waste at the site is disgraceful and has led to considerable harm to the ecology and distress to the nearby community.

"Our administration is pledged to eradicating this type of criminality across the country, by boosting funds to tackle environmental crime, employing more personnel and introducing stricter controls and penalties for those who violate the regulations."

The apprehensions were executed on a recent Thursday by agents from a specialist crime team and follow an previous detention of a 39-year-old from the Surrey region in November. He was let go subject to additional investigations.