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Two individuals have been taken into custody as part of an investigation into the dumping of several thousand of tons of waste in a rural field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Authorities stated that a 69-year-old was arrested at a residence in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in Slough, Berkshire in connection with the enormous heap of garbage tipped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These apprehensions follow a recent revelation which exposed the presence of in excess of 500 unlawful sites across England, encompassing at minimum 11 so-called "large-scale sites" larger than 20,000 tons.

A representative for the regulatory authorities said that the detentions were for environmental and money laundering violations and were a "crucial step" in continuing inquiries. Both men have been set free on conditional release.

Scale of the Problem

The dump in Kidlington, located between the river Cherwell and the A34 road, is thought to hold approximately 21,000 tons of refuse in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) high.

This mound of waste is made up of what appears to be treated household waste, chopped up plastics, Styrofoam, tyres and assorted household items.

It constitutes just a single of 517 illegal dumps across England, at least 11 of which are estimated to hold in excess of 20,000 tonnes of garbage. These encompass a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in the county of Kent.

The total amount of such bigger dumps is likely to be higher, as the environment authority has previously indicated it does not hold information on volume for each unauthorized tip.

The majority these sites are in agricultural areas, frequently out of sight, and on land that should be farm property.

Organized Operations

Law enforcement report numerous are operated by organized crime groups, who are making cash by asking for significantly less than licensed firms to receive and dispose of waste.

Companies have to incur gate fees to use lawful landfill sites, based on the quantity and category of waste they are trying to get rid of, and a waste tax is also levied at just over £126 per tonne.

Public Frustration

Preparation operations to clean up the Kidlington site commenced earlier this month following worries over the threat of blaze and the effect that would have on the adjacent highway.

A commercial clean-up contractor has been awarded the task to remediate the site over the following 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An enforcement manager for the national environment unit said that the body would be seeking to recover the remediation costs under confiscation laws from any individual successfully convicted at the end of its current case.

She further stated that the recent arrests would help "drive the probe forward" and permit officials to "follow more leads to determine precisely what occurred and who was involved".

"The illegal tip at the site was an atrocious and intentional assault on our environment and officials share the public's frustration at this horrific act," she stated.

A senior representative supported the actions, stating: "This unlawful tipping of rubbish at Kidlington is utterly appalling and has caused considerable harm to the ecology and anguish to the local residents.

"The administration is committed to eradicating this kind of crime throughout the country, by augmenting resources to address environmental crime, recruiting more personnel and enacting stricter checks and fines for those who violate the law."

The detentions were executed on the specified day by officers from a regional crime unit and are in addition to an earlier arrest of a 39-year-old from the Guildford region in November. He was let go pending more inquiries.