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Two men have been taken into custody as part of an inquiry into the illegal deposit of many thousands of tonnes of rubbish in a field in Oxfordshire, England.

Authorities stated that a 69-year-old was arrested at a residence in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in Slough, Berkshire in connection with the huge mound of garbage deposited near the area of Kidlington.

These arrests follow a prior revelation which revealed the existence of over 500 unauthorized dumps throughout England, including at least 11 so-called "super sites" bigger than 20,000 metric tons.

A spokeswoman for the regulatory body commented that the apprehensions were for environmental and money laundering crimes and represented a "key step" in continuing investigations. Both men have been released on pre-trial release.

Magnitude of the Issue

The illegal site in the Kidlington area, positioned between the Cherwell River and the A34, is believed to hold approximately 21,000 metric tons of refuse in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) in height.

This pile of garbage is made up of what seems to be sorted domestic refuse, fragmented plastic items, expanded polystyrene, automobile tires and various domestic objects.

It represents just one example of 517 unauthorized dumps throughout England, at minimum 11 of which hold more than 20,000 metric tons of garbage. Such sites feature a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire county and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The actual amount of such bigger sites is likely to be higher, as the environment body has in the past stated it does not hold records on volume for each illegal tip.

A large proportion of sites are in agricultural locations, frequently concealed, and on land that is zoned as agricultural ground.

Criminal Activity

Police report a significant number are run by organised crime gangs, who are earning profit by charging much less than lawful operators to accept and dispose of garbage.

Companies have to be liable for gate fees to use legitimate landfill sites, depending on the quantity and nature of refuse they are trying to discard, and landfill tax is also levied at just over £126 per ton.

Public Anger

Initial operations to clear the affected location began earlier this month due to worries over the potential of blaze and the consequences that would have on the close-by highway.

A contracted clean-up contractor has been granted the contract to remediate the area over the next 12 months period at a price of £9.6m.

An enforcement officer for the national regulatory unit commented that the agency would be seeking to recoup the clean-up expenses under confiscation laws from anyone ultimately prosecuted at the end of its current inquiry.

She noted that these arrests would help "drive the investigation forward" and enable officials to "follow more avenues to determine precisely what happened and who was a party to it".

"This unauthorized tip at the site was an appalling and intentional attack on our ecology and the authorities empathize with the public's outrage at this terrible act," she said.

A cabinet minister praised the detentions, adding: "The illegal tipping of garbage at Kidlington is utterly appalling and has resulted in significant harm to the natural world and distress to the surrounding residents.

"Our government is dedicated to stamping out this category of illegal activity in the nation, by boosting funds to tackle environmental crime, hiring more personnel and enacting stricter measures and sanctions for those who flout the law."

The apprehensions were made on the specified day by officers from a regional organised crime team and are in addition to an earlier apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford region in last November. He was released pending more inquiries.