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Two men have been taken into custody as an element of an inquiry into the illegal deposit of thousands of tons of rubbish in a open field in Oxfordshire.

Officials stated that a man in his late sixties was detained at a dwelling in the town of Andover, while a man in his fifties was arrested in the town of Slough in association with the enormous heap of garbage tipped near Kidlington.

These apprehensions follow a previous revelation which exposed the operation of over 500 unauthorized tips across England, featuring at minimum 11 so-called "major sites" greater than 20,000 metric tons.

A representative for the environmental agency commented that the apprehensions were for environment-related and proceeds of crime crimes and were a "vital step" in continuing investigations. Both men have been released on pre-trial release.

Magnitude of the Problem

The tipping ground in the Kidlington area, situated between the River Cherwell and the A34, is believed to hold approximately 21,000 metric tons of refuse in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) in height.

This pile of rubbish is made up of what looks to be processed domestic rubbish, chopped up plastic items, Styrofoam, tyres and assorted everyday articles.

It constitutes just a single of 517 unlawful dumps throughout the country, at least 11 of which are estimated to hold more than 20,000 metric tons of garbage. They include a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The actual amount of such larger locations is likely to be higher, as the environmental body has previously stated it does not possess data on volume for all unlawful dump.

A large proportion of such locations are in agricultural settings, frequently hidden, and on land that should be agricultural ground.

Organised Operations

Authorities report many are run by criminal organizations, who are generating profit by asking for much less than lawful firms to take and dispose of waste.

Companies have to pay gate fees to use licensed landfill sites, contingent on the amount and type of refuse they are trying to get rid of, and a waste tax is also levied at just over £126 per ton.

Community Anger

Initial efforts to remove the affected location began earlier this month following fears over the threat of fire and the consequences that would have on the close-by major road.

A private clean-up contractor has been granted the task to remediate the location over the following 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An compliance manager for the country's environmental crime team commented that the agency would be seeking to recoup the remediation costs under confiscation legislation from anyone successfully prosecuted at the conclusion of its current inquiry.

She noted that these apprehensions would help "push the probe forward" and enable the agency to "pursue more lines of inquiry to understand in detail what occurred and who was a party to it".

"This illegal tip at this location was an shocking and deliberate assault on our ecology and the authorities empathize with the local frustration at this egregious act," she stated.

A government minister welcomed the arrests, commenting: "This unauthorized deposit of garbage at the site is disgraceful and has led to significant detriment to the ecology and distress to the local population.

"Our authorities is pledged to stamping out this type of crime in the country, by boosting funds to combat waste crime, employing more officers and implementing tougher measures and penalties for those who violate the regulations."

The detentions were carried out on the specified day by officers from a dedicated serious crime team and come after an prior arrest of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area region in last November. He was released pending further enquiries.