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

Authorities stated that a man in his late sixties was detained at a dwelling in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in the town of Slough in connection with the enormous pile of waste tipped near Kidlington.

These apprehensions occur a week after a prior investigation which uncovered the existence of more than 500 illegal dumps throughout England, featuring at minimum 11 so-called "super sites" greater than 20,000 metric tons.

A spokeswoman for the regulatory authorities stated that the arrests were for environmental and money laundering crimes and were a "vital step" in active probes. The apprehended men have been set free on conditional release.

Magnitude of the Situation

The illegal site in Kidlington, located between the river Cherwell and the A34 road, is estimated to contain approximately 21,000 tons of waste in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) high.

This pile of waste is made up of what seems to be processed residential refuse, chopped up plastic materials, polystyrene, tyres and various everyday items.

It constitutes just a single of 517 unlawful tips in England, at minimum 11 of which contain more than 20,000 tonnes of rubbish. These encompass a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The overall amount of such larger dumps is expected to be larger, as the environmental authority has in the past indicated it does not maintain data on volume for each illegal dump.

A large proportion of these sites are in countryside settings, frequently out of sight, and on land that is intended to be farm land.

Organised Operations

Law enforcement say a significant number are run by organized crime groups, who are generating profit by charging much less than legitimate companies to accept and landfill rubbish.

Companies have to incur disposal fees to use licensed landfill sites, based on the amount and category of waste they are trying to dispose of, and landfill tax is also charged at just over £126 per metric ton.

Community Outrage

Preparation operations to clear the Kidlington dump started recently following worries over the potential of blaze and the impact that would have on the adjacent highway.

A commercial waste removal contractor has been awarded the contract to remediate the site over the next 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An enforcement manager for the country's regulatory team said that the agency would be aiming to claim back the clean-up expenses under asset recovery acts from any individual successfully prosecuted at the end of its ongoing case.

She added that the recent arrests would help "push the probe forward" and enable authorities to "pursue more lines of inquiry to understand precisely what occurred and who was implicated".

"The unlawful dump at this location was an atrocious and intentional affront on our environment and we empathize with the community's frustration at this horrific offence," she said.

A government representative supported the arrests, stating: "This unauthorized deposit of garbage at the site is disgraceful and has caused considerable detriment to the environment and distress to the local community.

"Our administration is dedicated to stamping out this kind of crime across the UK, by increasing financing to address waste crime, hiring more officers and enacting more severe measures and sanctions for those who flout the law."

The arrests were executed on a recent Thursday by personnel from a regional organised crime unit and follow an prior detention of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area area in the autumn. He was let go subject to more investigations.