A pair of individuals have been taken into custody as an element of an probe into the illegal deposit of thousands of tonnes of rubbish in a open field in Oxfordshire, England.
Officials reported that a man in his late sixties was apprehended at a residence in Andover, Hampshire, while a man in his fifties was arrested in Slough, Berkshire in relation with the enormous heap of garbage deposited near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.
These arrests come after a previous investigation which uncovered the existence of in excess of 500 unauthorized tips across England, including at least 11 so-called "large-scale sites" greater than 20,000 tons.
A spokeswoman for the regulatory agency stated that the detentions were for environmental and financial violations and constituted a "key step" in continuing probes. The apprehended men have been set free on pre-trial release.
Size of the Issue
The dump in Kidlington, located between the river Cherwell and the A34, is believed to contain around 21,000 metric tons of waste in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) high.
This pile of garbage is made up of what seems to be processed domestic rubbish, chopped up plastic materials, expanded polystyrene, tires and assorted everyday articles.
It constitutes just a single of 517 unlawful sites in England, at a minimum of 11 of which contain in excess of 20,000 tonnes of waste. They feature a 280,000-tonne site in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in the county of Kent.
The overall figure of such larger locations is likely to be greater, as the regulatory agency has previously indicated it does not possess records on volume for all unlawful tip.
A large proportion of such locations are in agricultural locations, often concealed, and on land that is intended to be agricultural land.
Criminal Activity
Authorities report a significant number are run by organised crime gangs, who are making money by demanding much less than licensed operators to take and landfill garbage.
Businesses have to pay gate fees to use lawful waste facilities, based on the volume and category of material they are trying to dispose of, and landfill tax is also levied at just over £126 per tonne.
Public Outrage
Initial work to remove the Kidlington location began recently amid fears over the risk of fire and the consequences that would have on the close-by major road.
A commercial clean-up contractor has been given the job to handle the location over the next 12 months period at a cost of £9.6m.
An enforcement manager for the national regulatory division commented that the authority would be aiming to recover the clean-up expenses under confiscation acts from any individual successfully prosecuted at the conclusion of its ongoing inquiry.
She added that this week's arrests would help "move the inquiry forward" and enable officials to "follow more leads to understand in detail what happened and who was implicated".
"The unlawful site at Kidlington was an appalling and intentional assault on our ecology and the authorities understand the local anger at this egregious act," she said.
A senior representative praised the detentions, adding: "This unlawful deposit of garbage at the site is utterly appalling and has caused considerable harm to the ecology and upset to the local population.
"The authorities is committed to eradicating this category of crime in the nation, by increasing funds to combat waste crime, hiring more officers and introducing tougher measures and sanctions for those who flout the rules."
The detentions were carried out on the specified day by officers from a regional organised crime team and come after an prior arrest of a man in his thirties from the Guildford region in the autumn. He was released subject to additional inquiries.
