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A pair of individuals have been arrested as part of an investigation into the illegal deposit of several thousand of tons of waste in a open field in Oxfordshire, England.

Authorities stated that a man in his late sixties was arrested at a property in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was detained in the town of Slough in association with the enormous mound of garbage dumped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These apprehensions come after a recent investigation which exposed the presence of in excess of 500 unlawful dumps in the country of England, including at least 11 so-called "large-scale sites" greater than 20,000 metric tons.

A representative for the regulatory authorities stated that the arrests were for environment-related and money laundering violations and constituted a "crucial step" in active investigations. The apprehended men have been released on bail.

Magnitude of the Problem

The dump in Kidlington, positioned between the River Cherwell and the A34 road, is estimated to contain about 21,000 tons of waste in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) high.

This pile of rubbish is made up of what appears to be treated household waste, shredded plastic materials, polystyrene, automobile tires and various domestic articles.

It is just one example of 517 illegal tips throughout the country, at a minimum of 11 of which hold more than 20,000 tons of rubbish. These feature 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 total figure of such larger dumps is expected to be larger, as the regulatory agency has in the past stated it does not maintain information on volume for all unauthorized dump.

The majority sites are in rural settings, typically out of sight, and on land that should be agricultural property.

Organized Operations

Law enforcement state a significant number are operated by organised crime gangs, who are earning cash by demanding much less than licensed operators to accept and bury rubbish.

Businesses have to incur disposal fees to use licensed landfill sites, depending on the amount and category of refuse they are trying to discard, and a disposal levy is also applied at just over £126 per ton.

Local Frustration

Initial efforts to remove the affected location commenced in recent weeks amid fears over the risk of blaze and the consequences that would have on the adjacent major road.

A private clean-up firm has been awarded the contract to deal with the site over the following 12 months period at a cost of £9.6m.

An compliance manager for the national environmental crime division said that the agency would be seeking to recoup the remediation costs under asset recovery legislation from any individual ultimately convicted at the end of its current investigation.

She added that the recent apprehensions would help "push the investigation forward" and enable officials to "follow more leads to understand precisely what happened and who was a party to it".

"The illegal dump at Kidlington was an appalling and intentional attack on our natural surroundings and we share the public's anger at this horrific offence," she stated.

A senior official supported the arrests, adding: "The unauthorized dumping of rubbish at Kidlington is disgraceful and has resulted in substantial damage to the natural world and upset to the local community.

"The government is dedicated to stamping out this type of illegal activity in the nation, by augmenting funds to combat illegal dumping, employing more personnel and implementing tougher controls and penalties for those who flout the law."

The arrests were made on a recent Thursday by officers from a regional serious crime team and come after an previous detention of a man in his thirties from the Surrey region in November. He was released awaiting more investigations.