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Two men have been detained as an element of an probe into the illegal deposit of thousands of metric tons of waste in a field in Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement reported that a man in his late sixties was arrested at a dwelling in Andover, Hampshire, while a man in his fifties was detained in Slough, Berkshire in connection with the enormous heap of garbage tipped near Kidlington.

These detentions occur a week after a recent report which revealed the existence of over 500 unauthorized sites throughout England, featuring at least 11 so-called "major sites" bigger than 20,000 tons.

A representative for the regulatory agency commented that the arrests were for environment-related and financial crimes and were a "vital step" in ongoing inquiries. The apprehended men have been set free on bail.

Scale of the Situation

The illegal site in near Kidlington, located between the Cherwell River and the A34 highway, is estimated to house approximately 21,000 metric tons of refuse in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) high.

This heap of waste is made up of what seems to be treated residential refuse, fragmented plastics, Styrofoam, tyres and assorted domestic items.

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

The overall amount of such larger locations is probably to be greater, as the regulatory authority has in the past stated it does not possess records on tonnage for every illegal tip.

Most sites are in rural areas, typically hidden, and on land that is zoned as farm land.

Organised Operations

Police report many are managed by organised crime gangs, who are generating profit by asking for much less than legitimate operators to accept and bury garbage.

Firms have to pay site fees to use lawful disposal sites, depending on the volume and category of material they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also charged at just over £126 per metric ton.

Local Frustration

Initial work to clean up the affected site began in recent weeks following fears over the threat of combustion and the impact that would have on the adjacent A-road.

A commercial waste removal contractor has been granted the job to remediate the location over the following 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An investigations official for the government regulatory division stated that the agency would be looking to recover the clearance costs under proceeds of crime acts from anyone prosecuted at the end of its active inquiry.

She added that this week's detentions would help "drive the inquiry forward" and allow the agency to "pursue more avenues to understand in detail what transpired and who was implicated".

"This illegal site at the site was an atrocious and intentional affront on our environment and the authorities understand the community's outrage at this terrible offence," she remarked.

A cabinet official welcomed the actions, adding: "This unlawful tipping of rubbish at this location is utterly appalling and has resulted in considerable damage to the ecology and anguish to the nearby population.

"Our government is dedicated to eliminating this category of illegal activity across the nation, by augmenting resources to combat waste crime, hiring more officers and enacting tougher measures and sanctions for those who break the rules."

The detentions were made on the specified day by personnel from a regional organised crime team and are in addition to an earlier arrest of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area area in November. He was released pending more investigations.