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Two men have been detained as a component of an probe into the dumping of thousands of tons of refuse in a rural field in Oxfordshire, England.

Authorities reported that a 69-year-old was detained at a property in Hampshire's Andover, while a man in his fifties was detained in Slough, Berkshire in relation with the huge pile of garbage tipped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These detentions follow a prior report which uncovered the presence of more than 500 unauthorized sites in England, encompassing at least 11 so-called "super sites" larger than 20,000 tons.

A official for the environmental body said that the arrests were for environmental and proceeds of crime violations and constituted a "key step" in continuing inquiries. The apprehended men have been let go on conditional release.

Scale of the Issue

The illegal site in near Kidlington, located between the river Cherwell and the A34 highway, is thought to contain approximately 21,000 tonnes of waste in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) in height.

This heap of rubbish is made up of what seems to be processed residential rubbish, fragmented plastic items, polystyrene, tires and other household items.

It is just a single of 517 unauthorized dumps across England, at least 11 of which contain more than 20,000 tonnes of waste. These encompass a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The actual number of such bigger sites is probably to be higher, as the regulatory body has in the past acknowledged it does not hold data on volume for all unauthorized tip.

Most such locations are in agricultural settings, typically concealed, and on land that is intended to be farm property.

Criminal Activity

Authorities state a significant number are managed by organized crime groups, who are making money by demanding much less than legitimate firms to accept and dispose of garbage.

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

Public Outrage

Preparation operations to remove the Kidlington area dump commenced in recent weeks following concerns over the risk of combustion and the impact that would have on the nearby major road.

A private clean-up company has been awarded the task to handle the area over the following 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An investigations officer for the country's environment division commented that the authority would be looking to recover the remediation funds under confiscation laws from any individual ultimately found guilty at the conclusion of its current case.

She further stated that the recent apprehensions would help "drive the inquiry forward" and enable the agency to "investigate more leads to ascertain in detail what transpired and who was involved".

"The illegal site at Kidlington was an atrocious and intentional affront on our natural surroundings and officials share the public's outrage at this horrific act," she said.

A cabinet representative supported the actions, stating: "The unlawful dumping of garbage at Kidlington is appalling and has resulted in substantial harm to the natural world and distress to the surrounding population.

"The authorities is committed to eliminating this type of criminality throughout the nation, by augmenting funds to tackle illegal dumping, employing more officers and enacting more severe measures and sanctions for those who flout the rules."

The detentions were executed on the specified day by agents from a specialist organised crime squad and follow an earlier arrest of a 39-year-old from the Guildford region in the autumn. He was released awaiting more inquiries.