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

Law enforcement reported that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a property in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in Slough in association with the enormous heap of rubbish dumped near the area of Kidlington.

These arrests occur a week after a recent investigation which uncovered the presence of over 500 unlawful tips throughout the country of England, featuring at least 11 so-called "large-scale sites" larger than 20,000 metric tons.

A spokeswoman for the regulatory agency stated that the apprehensions were for environment-related and money laundering offences and represented a "key step" in ongoing probes. The two individuals have been set free on conditional release.

Magnitude of the Situation

The tipping ground in near Kidlington, located between the Cherwell River and the A34 highway, is believed to contain about 21,000 metric tons of refuse in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) in height.

This pile of rubbish is made up of what seems to be sorted household waste, fragmented plastic materials, Styrofoam, tyres and other domestic articles.

It represents just one example of 517 unlawful tips across England, at a minimum of 11 of which are estimated to hold in excess of 20,000 metric tons of waste. Such sites encompass a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The actual number of such major sites is probably to be larger, as the environmental authority has earlier indicated it does not maintain data on volume for all unlawful tip.

The majority sites are in countryside locations, typically hidden, and on land that is zoned as agricultural ground.

Organized Activity

Authorities state numerous are managed by organized crime groups, who are making money by asking for much less than lawful operators to take and landfill waste.

Firms have to incur disposal fees to use licensed landfill sites, based on the volume and nature of refuse they are trying to dispose of, and a disposal levy is also levied at just over £126 per tonne.

Community Anger

Initial work to clear the affected location started in recent weeks due to worries over the risk of fire and the impact that would have on the nearby major road.

A contracted clean-up firm has been awarded the job to deal with the area over the coming 12 months period at a cost of £9.6m.

An investigations official for the national environment division said that the agency would be aiming to recoup the remediation expenses under proceeds of crime legislation from any party ultimately convicted at the termination of its current investigation.

She added that these detentions would help "move the investigation forward" and allow authorities to "investigate more lines of inquiry to understand in detail what transpired and who was involved".

"This illegal site at the site was an atrocious and calculated assault on our environment and the authorities share the community's frustration at this terrible offence," she remarked.

A cabinet representative praised the arrests, commenting: "The illegal dumping of rubbish at the site is disgraceful and has resulted in substantial damage to the ecology and distress to the surrounding community.

"The government is pledged to eradicating this category of criminality across the nation, by boosting funds to address illegal dumping, hiring more personnel and introducing stricter measures and fines for those who break the regulations."

The arrests were executed on Thursday by officers from a dedicated organised crime squad and are in addition to an prior apprehension of a man in his thirties from the Guildford region in last November. He was released subject to additional enquiries.