A pair of individuals have been arrested as an element of an investigation into the illegal deposit of many thousands of tonnes of waste in a field in the county of Oxfordshire.
Authorities stated that a 69-year-old was arrested at a dwelling in Andover, Hampshire, while a man in his fifties was arrested in Slough, Berkshire in association with the enormous pile of garbage deposited near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.
These arrests occur a week after a prior investigation which uncovered the presence of in excess of 500 illegal sites throughout England, encompassing at least 11 so-called "large-scale sites" bigger than 20,000 metric tons.
A representative for the regulatory agency commented that the apprehensions were for ecological and money laundering crimes and constituted a "key step" in continuing investigations. Both men have been let go on conditional release.
The dump in near Kidlington, positioned between the river Cherwell and the A34 road, is thought to contain about 21,000 tons of waste in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) tall.
This pile of garbage is made up of what seems to be sorted domestic waste, shredded plastics, expanded polystyrene, automobile tires and assorted household objects.
It represents just one of 517 illegal tips throughout the country, at a minimum of 11 of which contain over 20,000 tons of rubbish. Such sites include a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.
The actual number of such bigger locations is likely to be higher, as the environmental authority has earlier indicated it does not hold data on volume for every unlawful dump.
The majority such locations are in agricultural settings, frequently hidden, and on land that should be agricultural ground.
Law enforcement state a significant number are operated by criminal organizations, who are generating profit by charging far less than lawful operators to accept and landfill waste.
Companies have to incur site fees to use lawful waste facilities, based on the amount and category of refuse they are trying to discard, and a waste tax is also levied at just over £126 per ton.
Preparatory operations to clear the Kidlington location started earlier this month following worries over the threat of fire and the impact that would have on the close-by major road.
A private clean-up company has been granted the job to handle the area over the following 12 months period at a price of £9.6m.
An enforcement officer for the government environment team commented that the agency would be looking to recover the remediation costs under proceeds of crime acts from any party successfully convicted at the end of its ongoing inquiry.
She further stated that the recent arrests would help "push the probe forward" and permit the agency to "investigate more avenues to ascertain in detail what transpired and who was a party to it".
"This illegal tip at Kidlington was an atrocious and intentional assault on our environment and officials share the local anger at this horrific offence," she stated.
A cabinet representative supported the detentions, adding: "The unauthorized dumping of waste at this location is utterly appalling and has caused considerable detriment to the environment and distress to the nearby community.
"Our administration is dedicated to stamping out this category of illegal activity throughout the UK, by increasing resources to combat waste crime, hiring more personnel and implementing more severe checks and penalties for those who violate the law."
The detentions were executed on a recent Thursday by personnel from a dedicated crime squad and come after an earlier arrest of a 39-year-old from the Surrey region in last November. He was let go pending further investigations.
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