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Two individuals have been detained as a component of an probe into the illegal deposit of thousands of metric tons of waste in a rural field in Oxfordshire, England.

Officials stated that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a property in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in the town of Slough in relation with the massive heap of garbage dumped near Kidlington.

These arrests come after a prior report which uncovered the operation of in excess of 500 unlawful dumps in the country of England, including at a minimum of 11 so-called "super sites" bigger than 20,000 tons.

A spokeswoman for the environment agency said that the arrests were for ecological and money laundering violations and constituted a "vital step" in active probes. The two individuals have been let go on pre-trial release.

Size of the Problem

The tipping ground in the Kidlington area, situated between the River Cherwell and the A34 road, is believed to hold around 21,000 tonnes of refuse in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) high.

This heap of garbage is consists of what looks to be treated household waste, fragmented plastics, Styrofoam, automobile tires and assorted domestic articles.

It constitutes just a single of 517 unlawful tips in England, at minimum 11 of which hold more than 20,000 tonnes of waste. These encompass a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The actual amount of such larger dumps is likely to be higher, as the environment body has earlier acknowledged it does not possess information on tonnage for all illegal site.

Most these sites are in countryside locations, typically concealed, and on land that should be arable land.

Organised Operations

Law enforcement say numerous are operated by organised crime gangs, who are making cash by demanding far less than lawful operators to take and bury garbage.

Companies have to pay gate fees to use legitimate waste facilities, contingent on the quantity and type of material they are trying to discard, and a waste tax is also charged at just over £126 per metric ton.

Public Outrage

Preparatory efforts to clear the affected dump began earlier this month following fears over the potential of blaze and the consequences that would have on the adjacent A-road.

A contracted clean-up company has been granted the job to handle the area over the coming 12 months period at a expense of £9.6m.

An enforcement manager for the national environment unit said that the agency would be looking to recover the clean-up funds under confiscation laws from any party successfully convicted at the conclusion of its ongoing inquiry.

She further stated that this week's detentions would help "move the investigation forward" and enable the agency to "investigate more leads to determine exactly what happened and who was involved".

"This illegal dump at the site was an appalling and calculated assault on our environment and we empathize with the public's outrage at this horrific offence," she said.

A government official supported the arrests, stating: "This unauthorized dumping of waste at the site is appalling and has resulted in significant harm to the ecology and anguish to the surrounding population.

"The authorities is dedicated to eradicating this kind of criminality across the country, by augmenting funds to address environmental crime, hiring more personnel and implementing more severe controls and sanctions for those who break the rules."

The detentions were carried out on a recent Thursday by agents from a dedicated serious crime unit and follow an earlier arrest of a man in his thirties from the Guildford region in November. He was released pending further investigations.