Detentions Made in Relation to Supersized Unlawful Landfill

Two men have been detained as a component of an inquiry into the illegal deposit of thousands of tons of refuse in a field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement stated that a man in his late sixties was arrested at a residence in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in the town of Slough in relation with the enormous mound of waste dumped near Kidlington.

These detentions follow a recent investigation which uncovered the existence of in excess of 500 unauthorized sites in England, encompassing at a minimum of 11 so-called "super sites" larger than 20,000 tons.

A official for the environment body commented that the apprehensions were for environmental and financial offences and were a "vital step" in ongoing probes. The two individuals have been let go on conditional release.

Size of the Situation

The dump in Kidlington, situated between the river Cherwell and the A34 road, is believed to house around 21,000 metric tons of waste in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) high.

This pile of waste is consists of what appears to be processed domestic rubbish, shredded plastic items, polystyrene, tyres and assorted everyday articles.

It is just one of 517 illegal tips throughout England, at a minimum of 11 of which contain more than 20,000 metric tons of rubbish. Such sites feature a 280,000-tonne area in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The overall figure of such larger sites is likely to be greater, as the regulatory authority has in the past indicated it does not hold records on tonnage for each illegal site.

Most these sites are in rural areas, frequently hidden, and on land that is zoned as agricultural property.

Organised Enterprise

Law enforcement report many are run by organised crime gangs, who are generating money by charging significantly less than legitimate companies to take and landfill rubbish.

Companies have to incur site fees to use lawful disposal sites, based on the amount and type of material they are trying to dispose of, and landfill tax is also levied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Community Anger

Initial operations to clean up the Kidlington area dump commenced recently amid fears over the potential of blaze and the impact that would have on the adjacent major road.

A contracted clean-up firm has been given the job to handle the location over the following 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An compliance manager for the national regulatory team said that the body would be aiming to recoup the remediation expenses under proceeds of crime acts from anyone successfully prosecuted at the end of its current inquiry.

She added that this week's apprehensions would help "drive the inquiry forward" and permit officials to "pursue more avenues to understand in detail what transpired and who was implicated".

"The unauthorized dump at the site was an appalling and deliberate attack on our ecology and officials understand the public's frustration at this horrific crime," she stated.

A government minister praised the actions, stating: "The unauthorized dumping of waste at the site is utterly appalling and has resulted in considerable detriment to the natural world and anguish to the surrounding residents.

"Our authorities is pledged to eliminating this type of illegal activity throughout the UK, by boosting funds to address illegal dumping, recruiting more personnel and introducing more severe checks and sanctions for those who break the rules."

The apprehensions were executed on Thursday by officers from a specialist organised crime unit and follow an earlier apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Surrey region in the autumn. He was let go pending additional investigations.