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A pair of individuals have been arrested as a component of an inquiry into the dumping of thousands of tonnes of waste in a rural field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Officials indicated that a man in his late sixties was apprehended at a residence in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in Slough, Berkshire in connection with the huge mound of garbage tipped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These apprehensions occur a week after a previous revelation which exposed the existence of over 500 unlawful tips across England, including at least 11 so-called "super sites" bigger than 20,000 metric tons.

A representative for the environmental body said that the arrests were for environment-related and money laundering violations and constituted a "key step" in ongoing probes. Both men have been let go on conditional release.

Magnitude of the Issue

The tipping ground in Kidlington, positioned between the Cherwell River and the A34 highway, is thought to contain around 21,000 metric tons of refuse in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) tall.

This mound of rubbish is consists of what seems to be sorted residential waste, shredded plastic materials, polystyrene, tires and assorted household articles.

It represents just one example of 517 unlawful tips throughout the country, at a minimum of 11 of which are estimated to hold in excess of 20,000 tons of garbage. These encompass a 280,000-tonne area in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The actual amount of such major dumps is expected to be greater, as the environmental body has previously acknowledged it does not hold records on volume for all unlawful site.

Most such locations are in countryside areas, typically concealed, and on land that is intended to be agricultural land.

Organized Operations

Police report a significant number are operated by organized crime groups, who are generating profit by asking for much less than lawful companies to accept and bury garbage.

Businesses have to incur disposal fees to use lawful waste facilities, depending on the amount and category of waste they are trying to get rid of, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per tonne.

Community Frustration

Preparation operations to clean up the Kidlington area dump started recently due to fears over the threat of blaze and the effect that would have on the close-by highway.

A private clean-up firm has been awarded the task to deal with the site over the coming 12 months period at a price of £9.6m.

An compliance officer for the country's environmental crime division said that the body would be looking to recover the clean-up expenses under proceeds of crime laws from any individual convicted at the termination of its active investigation.

She further stated that these apprehensions would help "push the probe forward" and allow officials to "follow more lines of inquiry to determine exactly what transpired and who was a party to it".

"This unlawful tip at the site was an shocking and intentional assault on our environment and the authorities share the local outrage at this egregious offence," she remarked.

A senior official praised the detentions, stating: "The unauthorized tipping of garbage at this location is utterly appalling and has resulted in substantial harm to the natural world and distress to the local community.

"Our administration is pledged to stamping out this type of crime across the UK, by increasing financing to address environmental crime, hiring more staff and introducing tougher controls and fines for those who flout the regulations."

The apprehensions were executed on Thursday by officers from a dedicated crime team and come after an previous detention of a 39-year-old from the Guildford region in November. He was let go awaiting further investigations.