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Two men have been detained as a component of an inquiry into the dumping of many thousands of tons of refuse in a field in Oxfordshire.

Officials indicated that a 69-year-old was detained at a residence in the town of Andover, while a man in his fifties was taken into custody in Slough in association with the massive heap of waste deposited near Kidlington.

These detentions come after a prior investigation which uncovered the presence of more than 500 unlawful tips across England, encompassing at a minimum of 11 so-called "large-scale sites" greater than 20,000 tonnes.

A official for the regulatory authorities commented that the detentions were for environment-related and proceeds of crime offences and represented a "crucial step" in continuing probes. The two individuals have been let go on pre-trial release.

Magnitude of the Issue

The illegal site in the Kidlington area, situated between the Cherwell River and the A34 road, is believed to hold around 21,000 metric tons of rubbish in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) tall.

This pile of waste is made up of what seems to be sorted household refuse, fragmented plastics, polystyrene, tires and various domestic items.

It is just one example of 517 unauthorized dumps in England, at minimum 11 of which contain more than 20,000 tonnes of garbage. They encompass a 280,000-tonne site in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The actual number of such larger sites is likely to be higher, as the regulatory authority has earlier indicated it does not maintain data on tonnage for all unauthorized dump.

Most these sites are in agricultural settings, frequently hidden, and on land that should be agricultural land.

Organised Enterprise

Law enforcement say many are operated by organised crime gangs, who are generating money by asking for significantly less than legitimate companies to take and bury waste.

Businesses have to be liable for disposal fees to use legitimate landfill sites, contingent on the volume and nature of material they are trying to get rid of, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Local Frustration

Preparation work to clean up the Kidlington location started earlier this month amid fears over the risk of combustion and the effect that would have on the adjacent highway.

A private waste removal contractor has been given the task to deal with the location over the coming 12 months period at a expense of £9.6m.

An investigations manager for the government environment division commented that the authority would be aiming to recoup the clean-up expenses under proceeds of crime legislation from any individual prosecuted at the conclusion of its current case.

She added that these detentions would help "move the investigation forward" and allow the agency to "pursue more lines of inquiry to understand in detail what transpired and who was a party to it".

"The unauthorized site at the site was an atrocious and intentional assault on our ecology and officials understand the public's anger at this egregious act," she remarked.

A government minister welcomed the detentions, commenting: "The illegal dumping of waste at the site is disgraceful and has caused substantial detriment to the ecology and distress to the nearby residents.

"Our administration is dedicated to eliminating this kind of crime across the nation, by increasing resources to combat environmental crime, employing more personnel and enacting more severe measures and sanctions for those who violate the law."

The detentions were executed on a recent Thursday by personnel from a regional serious crime squad and follow an earlier arrest of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area in November. He was let go pending additional enquiries.