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A pair of individuals have been detained as part of an inquiry into the tipping of thousands of metric tons of waste in a rural field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement stated that a man in his late sixties was arrested at a residence in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was detained in Slough in relation with the huge heap of rubbish dumped near the area of Kidlington.

These apprehensions follow a prior revelation which exposed the existence of in excess of 500 illegal tips in England, encompassing at least 11 so-called "major sites" larger than 20,000 tonnes.

A official for the environmental body said that the detentions were for environment-related and money laundering violations and were a "key step" in ongoing probes. Both men have been set free on pre-trial release.

Magnitude of the Problem

The illegal site in the Kidlington area, situated 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) in height.

This heap of garbage is consists of what seems to be treated household waste, shredded plastic materials, expanded polystyrene, tyres and other domestic objects.

It is just one of 517 unlawful dumps across England, at a minimum of 11 of which are estimated to hold more than 20,000 tons of rubbish. These encompass a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The actual amount of such major dumps is expected to be larger, as the environmental authority has previously stated it does not hold records on volume for every illegal tip.

Most such locations are in agricultural areas, frequently hidden, and on land that is intended to be arable ground.

Criminal Activity

Authorities report numerous are operated by organised crime gangs, who are earning profit by charging far less than legitimate firms to receive and landfill garbage.

Companies have to be liable for gate fees to use lawful waste facilities, depending on the quantity and nature of refuse they are trying to get rid of, and landfill tax is also levied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Local Frustration

Initial efforts to clean up the affected location began recently amid worries over the potential of fire and the impact that would have on the adjacent major road.

A commercial waste removal contractor has been awarded the contract to remediate the site over the following 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An compliance officer for the national environmental crime division commented that the authority would be seeking to claim back the clean-up funds under confiscation legislation from anyone successfully prosecuted at the conclusion of its ongoing investigation.

She further stated that these detentions would help "move the probe forward" and allow the agency to "follow more leads to understand precisely what occurred and who was implicated".

"The unlawful tip at Kidlington was an appalling and intentional assault on our environment and officials empathize with the public's frustration at this terrible offence," she stated.

A government minister welcomed the arrests, adding: "The unauthorized deposit of garbage at Kidlington is appalling and has led to significant detriment to the natural world and anguish to the local population.

"The government is dedicated to eradicating this category of criminality across the country, by increasing resources to combat environmental crime, recruiting more staff and enacting tougher measures and penalties for those who violate the regulations."

The detentions were made on Thursday by agents from a regional organised crime team and are in addition to an earlier arrest of a man in his thirties from the Surrey area in November. He was set free pending more investigations.