🔗 Share this article Apprehensions Made in Link to Supersized Unlawful Landfill It is estimated that about 21,000 tons of waste were unlawfully tipped at the Oxfordshire site. Two individuals have been arrested as part of an inquiry into the dumping of several thousand of metric tons of waste in a rural field in Oxfordshire, England. Law enforcement indicated that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a property in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in Slough, Berkshire in relation with the massive heap of garbage deposited near the area of Kidlington. These arrests come after a prior report which revealed the operation of over 500 unauthorized sites in England, including at a minimum of 11 so-called "major sites" bigger than 20,000 tons. A spokeswoman for the regulatory body said that the arrests were for environmental and money laundering violations and constituted a "key step" in ongoing investigations. Both men have been released on bail. The suspects were apprehended in relation with proceeds of crime and ecological crimes. Scale of the Issue The illegal site in the Kidlington area, located between the river Cherwell and the A34 highway, is believed to contain around 21,000 tonnes of refuse in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) high. This mound of rubbish is composed of what looks to be processed household rubbish, shredded plastic materials, polystyrene, automobile tires and various domestic objects. It constitutes just one of 517 illegal dumps across the country, at a minimum of 11 of which are estimated to hold over 20,000 tonnes of rubbish. These include a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne tip in the county of Kent. The actual number of such bigger dumps is expected to be higher, as the regulatory agency has in the past stated it does not hold records on volume for every unlawful tip. Most these sites are in rural areas, typically concealed, and on land that is zoned as farm land. Criminal Operations Police report many are operated by organized crime groups, who are generating profit by asking for far less than licensed companies to take and dispose of garbage. Companies have to be liable for site fees to use legitimate waste facilities, depending on the quantity and type of material they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per tonne. Public Outrage Preparation operations to remove the affected site commenced in recent weeks due to fears over the threat of combustion and the impact that would have on the adjacent A-road. A contracted waste removal firm has been awarded the job to handle the site over the next 12 months period at a price of £9.6m. An enforcement official for the government environmental crime division stated that the body would be aiming to recover the remediation expenses under proceeds of crime legislation from any individual convicted at the termination of its ongoing investigation. She added that this week's arrests would help "push the investigation forward" and enable the agency to "follow more leads to understand exactly what transpired and who was a party to it". "The unlawful dump at Kidlington was an shocking and deliberate assault on our natural surroundings and officials empathize with the community's frustration at this horrific crime," she remarked. A government official praised the detentions, commenting: "This illegal tipping of garbage at the site is disgraceful and has caused considerable detriment to the ecology and upset to the local population. "Our administration is committed to eradicating this type of illegal activity in the UK, by increasing funds to address environmental crime, employing more staff and implementing tougher checks and penalties for those who flout the rules." The arrests were carried out on Thursday by personnel from a regional crime unit and are in addition to an previous detention of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area area in last November. He was set free pending additional investigations.