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A pair of individuals have been detained as part of an inquiry into the dumping of several thousand of metric tons of refuse in a open field in Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement reported that a man in his late sixties was arrested at a residence in the town of Andover, while a man in his fifties was detained in the town of Slough in relation with the huge heap of garbage dumped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These apprehensions occur a week after a prior revelation which uncovered the presence of over 500 unauthorized tips in England, including at least 11 so-called "large-scale sites" greater than 20,000 metric tons.

A spokeswoman for the regulatory agency said that the arrests were for environmental and money laundering violations and constituted a "crucial step" in ongoing investigations. The two individuals have been set free on bail.

Scale of the Issue

The illegal site in Kidlington, positioned between the river Cherwell and the A34 highway, is believed to house about 21,000 tons of rubbish in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) high.

This mound of garbage is made up of what seems to be processed household rubbish, chopped up plastics, expanded polystyrene, tires and various everyday objects.

It represents just one example of 517 unlawful tips in England, at least 11 of which hold over 20,000 tons of garbage. They feature a 280,000-tonne site in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in the county of Kent.

The actual amount of such bigger sites is expected to be higher, as the environment agency has earlier stated it does not possess information on tonnage for each unauthorized site.

The majority these sites are in rural areas, typically hidden, and on land that is intended to be arable ground.

Criminal Enterprise

Police say numerous are run by organised crime gangs, who are generating profit by charging significantly less than licensed companies to take and landfill rubbish.

Businesses have to incur disposal fees to use legitimate landfill sites, based on the volume and category of waste they are trying to get rid of, and landfill tax is also applied at just over £126 per ton.

Community Anger

Preparation efforts to clear the affected location commenced earlier this month due to worries over the threat of fire and the consequences that would have on the nearby highway.

A contracted waste clearance company has been granted the contract to remediate the area over the following 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An enforcement officer for the government environment team commented that the agency would be looking to recoup the clean-up funds under proceeds of crime acts from anyone ultimately prosecuted at the end of its ongoing inquiry.

She further stated that the recent arrests would help "push the probe forward" and enable officials to "follow more lines of inquiry to understand exactly what happened and who was implicated".

"The illegal dump at this location was an appalling and deliberate attack on our natural surroundings and officials share the local frustration at this horrific offence," she stated.

A cabinet representative praised the detentions, adding: "This unlawful dumping of rubbish at this location is appalling and has caused significant detriment to the ecology and anguish to the local population.

"The administration is pledged to eradicating this type of criminality throughout the UK, by boosting resources to tackle waste crime, hiring more personnel and introducing more severe controls and penalties for those who flout the law."

The apprehensions were executed on a recent Thursday by agents from a dedicated organised crime squad and follow an earlier detention of a man in his thirties from the Surrey region in the autumn. He was let go awaiting further inquiries.