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Two individuals have been taken into custody as a component of an investigation into the illegal deposit of many thousands of tonnes of waste in a field in Oxfordshire.

Authorities indicated that a 69-year-old was arrested at a residence in Hampshire's Andover, while a man in his fifties was taken into custody in Slough, Berkshire in association with the massive pile of garbage dumped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These detentions follow a prior report which revealed the presence of over 500 unauthorized dumps throughout England, featuring at least 11 so-called "major sites" bigger than 20,000 metric tons.

A representative for the environmental authorities said that the detentions were for environmental and money laundering violations and constituted a "crucial step" in continuing inquiries. The apprehended men have been set free on bail.

Magnitude of the Issue

The illegal site in Kidlington, positioned between the river Cherwell and the A34, is estimated to house around 21,000 tonnes of refuse in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) in height.

This pile of garbage is composed of what appears to be sorted residential refuse, fragmented plastic materials, polystyrene, tyres and assorted everyday articles.

It is just one example of 517 unlawful sites throughout the country, at minimum 11 of which contain over 20,000 tons of garbage. They encompass a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in the county of Kent.

The actual number of such larger dumps is probably to be higher, as the environmental body has earlier acknowledged it does not hold information on volume for each unlawful site.

The majority sites are in rural locations, often hidden, and on land that is zoned as farm property.

Criminal Activity

Police report numerous are managed by organized crime groups, who are making cash by demanding much less than licensed operators to receive and landfill waste.

Businesses have to pay gate fees to use lawful landfill sites, based on the amount and category of refuse they are trying to discard, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per ton.

Community Frustration

Preparatory efforts to remove the Kidlington dump started in recent weeks due to worries over the risk of blaze and the consequences that would have on the close-by highway.

A contracted clean-up company has been given the contract to deal with the area over the next 12 months period at a cost of £9.6m.

An compliance officer for the country's regulatory team commented that the agency would be looking to recover the clean-up funds under confiscation laws from any party ultimately prosecuted at the conclusion of its ongoing case.

She further stated that these arrests would help "push the probe forward" and enable authorities to "pursue more leads to understand in detail what transpired and who was involved".

"The unauthorized tip at this location was an appalling and calculated assault on our natural surroundings and we understand the local frustration at this horrific act," she remarked.

A government official supported the arrests, commenting: "This unlawful tipping of rubbish at this location is utterly appalling and has led to considerable harm to the ecology and distress to the nearby population.

"Our authorities is dedicated to eliminating this type of illegal activity in the country, by augmenting resources to combat environmental crime, employing more officers and introducing more severe controls and penalties for those who flout the law."

The detentions were made on the specified day by officers from a dedicated crime team and come after an prior apprehension of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area in last November. He was released subject to further investigations.