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Two individuals have been arrested as a component of an investigation into the tipping of thousands of tons of rubbish in a field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Officials stated that a man in his late sixties was detained at a property in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was detained in the town of Slough in relation with the enormous mound of garbage dumped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These apprehensions follow a recent revelation which revealed the operation of more than 500 illegal tips across England, encompassing at minimum 11 so-called "major sites" greater than 20,000 tons.

A official for the regulatory body said that the apprehensions were for environment-related and money laundering violations and were a "key step" in ongoing probes. Both men have been released on conditional release.

Scale of the Situation

The illegal site in near Kidlington, positioned between the River Cherwell and the A34 highway, is believed to contain around 21,000 tons of rubbish in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) tall.

This pile of waste is composed of what appears to be treated residential refuse, chopped up plastic materials, polystyrene, tyres and assorted everyday articles.

It constitutes just a single of 517 unlawful dumps in England, at a minimum of 11 of which contain more than 20,000 tonnes of rubbish. Such sites feature 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 overall number of such larger sites is expected to be higher, as the environment authority has in the past acknowledged it does not hold data on volume for each unlawful site.

Most sites are in countryside areas, typically hidden, and on land that should be arable ground.

Organised Activity

Police say many are managed by organised crime gangs, who are earning money by asking for significantly less than legitimate firms to take and dispose of waste.

Firms have to be liable for site fees to use licensed waste facilities, depending on the quantity and type of material they are trying to get rid of, and a waste tax is also charged at just over £126 per metric ton.

Community Outrage

Preparatory efforts to clean up the Kidlington dump began earlier this month amid concerns over the risk of blaze and the impact that would have on the adjacent highway.

A contracted clean-up contractor has been awarded the job to remediate the area over the following 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An investigations official for the country's environment team commented that the body would be aiming to claim back the remediation funds under proceeds of crime acts from any party successfully found guilty at the end of its ongoing case.

She further stated that the recent apprehensions would help "drive the probe forward" and allow authorities to "investigate more avenues to determine precisely what happened and who was involved".

"This illegal tip at the site was an shocking and deliberate attack on our natural surroundings and we understand the local anger at this terrible offence," she said.

A senior minister welcomed the detentions, adding: "This unauthorized deposit of waste at this location is appalling and has led to significant harm to the natural world and upset to the local residents.

"Our authorities is committed to stamping out this type of criminality across the country, by augmenting funds to address waste crime, employing more staff and enacting stricter checks and fines for those who break the rules."

The detentions were made on a recent Thursday by personnel from a specialist serious crime squad and are in addition to an prior arrest of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area in last November. He was set free subject to more investigations.