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Two men have been taken into custody as an element of an investigation into the illegal deposit of many thousands of metric tons of waste in a field in Oxfordshire, England.

Authorities reported that a man in his late sixties was detained at a property in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was detained in Slough in association with the enormous heap of waste deposited near Kidlington.

These arrests occur a week after a previous report which exposed the operation of more than 500 unauthorized dumps across England, including at a minimum of 11 so-called "large-scale sites" greater than 20,000 metric tons.

A official for the environmental authorities commented that the arrests were for environment-related and proceeds of crime offences and constituted a "key step" in ongoing probes. The apprehended men have been set free on conditional release.

Scale of the Problem

The dump in the Kidlington area, situated between the Cherwell River and the A34 highway, is estimated to contain around 21,000 tons of waste in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) tall.

This heap of waste is composed of what looks to be sorted household refuse, fragmented plastic items, expanded polystyrene, tires and various everyday objects.

It constitutes just one of 517 illegal sites across England, at least 11 of which hold over 20,000 metric tons of rubbish. Such sites feature a 280,000-tonne location in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The overall number of such larger sites is likely to be higher, as the environment authority has in the past stated it does not possess records on weight for all unlawful site.

The majority such locations are in countryside areas, often concealed, and on land that should be arable ground.

Organised Activity

Police state a significant number are run by criminal organizations, who are generating profit by asking for significantly less than legitimate firms to receive and dispose of rubbish.

Businesses have to incur gate fees to use legitimate landfill sites, based on the amount and category of refuse they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also charged at just over £126 per ton.

Community Outrage

Preparation work to remove the Kidlington location started in recent weeks following concerns over the potential of fire and the impact that would have on the nearby highway.

A commercial clean-up firm has been granted the job to deal with the area over the next 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An investigations official for the national environmental crime team said that the authority would be aiming to recoup the clearance expenses under proceeds of crime legislation from anyone ultimately convicted at the termination of its current case.

She noted that these detentions would help "push the investigation forward" and permit officials to "pursue more leads to understand precisely what happened and who was involved".

"The illegal site at this location was an appalling and intentional attack on our ecology and we understand the public's outrage at this egregious offence," she said.

A cabinet minister supported the actions, stating: "This unauthorized dumping of waste at the site is utterly appalling and has caused considerable harm to the natural world and distress to the local population.

"Our administration is committed to eliminating this type of illegal activity in the nation, by augmenting financing to tackle waste crime, recruiting more staff and enacting stricter controls and sanctions for those who break the rules."

The apprehensions were made on a recent Thursday by personnel from a regional organised crime team and are in addition to an prior apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford region in the autumn. He was released pending more inquiries.