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

Authorities indicated that a 69-year-old was detained at a property in the town of Andover, while a man in his fifties was taken into custody in Slough in association with the enormous heap of waste dumped near the area of Kidlington.

These detentions come after a prior report which uncovered the existence of more than 500 illegal tips across the country of England, featuring at minimum 11 so-called "large-scale sites" bigger than 20,000 metric tons.

A official for the regulatory agency stated that the apprehensions were for environmental and proceeds of crime offences and represented a "key step" in continuing investigations. The two individuals have been let go on bail.

Size of the Situation

The illegal site in Kidlington, positioned between the Cherwell River and the A34 road, is estimated to house approximately 21,000 tons of refuse in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) in height.

This heap of garbage is made up of what looks to be treated residential rubbish, fragmented plastic items, Styrofoam, tyres and other everyday articles.

It is just one of 517 unauthorized sites across England, at least 11 of which contain more than 20,000 metric tons of waste. Such sites encompass a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in the county of Kent.

The actual figure of such major dumps is likely to be higher, as the environmental authority has previously stated it does not hold records on weight for every illegal site.

A large proportion of sites are in countryside areas, typically hidden, and on land that is intended to be farm land.

Organised Enterprise

Police state many are operated by organised crime gangs, who are making cash by asking for far less than legitimate operators to take and landfill rubbish.

Firms have to pay site fees to use licensed waste facilities, contingent on the amount and nature of waste they are trying to discard, and a waste tax is also levied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Public Anger

Preparation work to clear the Kidlington area location started in recent weeks due to concerns over the risk of blaze and the impact that would have on the nearby major road.

A private waste clearance firm has been granted the task to handle the site over the coming 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An compliance official for the country's environment team commented that the authority would be looking to recover the clearance funds under proceeds of crime laws from any party successfully convicted at the termination of its current case.

She noted that this week's detentions would help "move the inquiry forward" and permit authorities to "investigate more lines of inquiry to ascertain precisely what occurred and who was involved".

"This unlawful tip at this location was an shocking and intentional affront on our environment and the authorities empathize with the public's outrage at this egregious act," she said.

A senior representative supported the detentions, stating: "The illegal deposit of waste at Kidlington is disgraceful and has caused considerable damage to the environment and upset to the local population.

"The authorities is pledged to eliminating this type of crime throughout the country, by increasing financing to combat environmental crime, hiring more officers and implementing tougher controls and fines for those who break the law."

The detentions were executed on Thursday by agents from a specialist organised crime unit and are in addition to an earlier arrest of a man in his thirties from the Surrey area in the autumn. He was set free subject to more investigations.