Arrests Executed in Link to Massive Illegal Waste Site
A pair of individuals have been detained as an element of an inquiry into the dumping of many thousands of tons of waste in a rural field in the county of Oxfordshire.
Law enforcement indicated that a 69-year-old was arrested at a dwelling in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in Slough, Berkshire in connection with the enormous mound of garbage tipped near the area of Kidlington.
These arrests occur a week after a previous revelation which exposed the presence of in excess of 500 unlawful dumps across England, featuring at minimum 11 so-called "large-scale sites" larger than 20,000 metric tons.
A official for the environment agency stated that the arrests were for environmental and money laundering violations and constituted a "key step" in ongoing probes. The two individuals have been set free on conditional release.
Scale of the Problem
The tipping ground in near Kidlington, located between the River Cherwell and the A34 highway, is believed to hold approximately 21,000 metric tons of refuse in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) high.
This pile of rubbish is consists of what looks to be sorted household rubbish, fragmented plastic materials, Styrofoam, automobile tires and other household articles.
It is just a single of 517 illegal tips throughout England, at least 11 of which are estimated to hold in excess of 20,000 tons of rubbish. Such sites include a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.
The total amount of such larger locations is probably to be higher, as the environmental agency has previously acknowledged it does not maintain records on volume for every unauthorized dump.
A large proportion of sites are in rural locations, often out of sight, and on land that should be farm land.
Criminal Operations
Law enforcement report many are operated by organized crime groups, who are making cash by demanding far less than licensed operators to take and landfill rubbish.
Companies have to be liable for site fees to use legitimate disposal sites, contingent on the volume and type of waste they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per ton.
Local Frustration
Preparation operations to clean up the affected dump commenced earlier this month amid worries over the potential of blaze and the impact that would have on the nearby highway.
A commercial waste clearance contractor has been granted the job to handle the area over the following 12 months period at a expense of £9.6m.
An enforcement officer for the government environmental crime division stated that the authority would be seeking to recover the clearance expenses under proceeds of crime laws from any individual successfully prosecuted at the conclusion of its ongoing inquiry.
She noted that these arrests would help "drive the investigation forward" and enable authorities to "follow more avenues to ascertain exactly what transpired and who was implicated".
"The unlawful dump at Kidlington was an appalling and calculated assault on our natural surroundings and we share the public's outrage at this egregious act," she remarked.
A government official praised the arrests, adding: "The unauthorized dumping of waste at the site is appalling and has resulted in significant damage to the ecology and distress to the nearby population.
"The administration is committed to stamping out this category of illegal activity across the nation, by boosting resources to combat environmental crime, employing more officers and enacting more severe checks and penalties for those who violate the rules."
The apprehensions were made on a recent Thursday by personnel from a dedicated crime unit and are in addition to an previous arrest of a 39-year-old from the Guildford region in the autumn. He was set free awaiting more inquiries.
