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A pair of individuals have been arrested as an element of an investigation into the dumping of thousands of tonnes of rubbish in a open field in Oxfordshire.

Officials indicated that a man in his late sixties was detained at a dwelling in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in Slough in relation with the enormous heap of waste deposited near Kidlington.

These arrests come after a recent report which exposed the operation of over 500 unlawful sites across England, encompassing at a minimum of 11 so-called "super sites" greater than 20,000 metric tons.

A spokeswoman for the environmental body commented that the detentions were for environment-related and money laundering crimes and constituted a "crucial step" in active inquiries. Both men have been set free on conditional release.

Scale of the Problem

The tipping ground in Kidlington, situated between the Cherwell River and the A34 highway, is estimated to house around 21,000 metric tons of refuse in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) tall.

This mound of rubbish is composed of what appears to be treated domestic rubbish, chopped up plastics, expanded polystyrene, tires and assorted domestic objects.

It constitutes just one of 517 illegal sites across England, at minimum 11 of which hold more than 20,000 metric tons of garbage. Such sites feature a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in the county of Kent.

The overall figure of such larger sites is probably to be larger, as the environmental agency has earlier acknowledged it does not hold data on tonnage for every illegal site.

A large proportion of such locations are in rural locations, typically concealed, and on land that is intended to be farm property.

Organised Enterprise

Police state numerous are run by criminal organizations, who are earning money by demanding much less than licensed operators to take and bury garbage.

Firms have to be liable for site fees to use lawful disposal sites, based on the volume and category of refuse they are trying to get rid of, and a disposal levy is also levied at just over £126 per tonne.

Local Anger

Preparatory efforts to clear the affected dump began earlier this month amid worries over the risk of blaze and the impact that would have on the nearby A-road.

A private waste clearance company has been granted the task to handle the area over the next 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An compliance manager for the country's environmental crime team said that the authority would be aiming to recover the clearance costs under proceeds of crime acts from any individual prosecuted at the conclusion of its current case.

She further stated that these arrests would help "drive the probe forward" and permit authorities to "investigate more lines of inquiry to determine exactly what occurred and who was a party to it".

"This illegal site at Kidlington was an atrocious and intentional attack on our environment and the authorities understand the community's frustration at this horrific offence," she stated.

A senior official supported the detentions, stating: "The illegal tipping of rubbish at this location is disgraceful and has resulted in substantial detriment to the ecology and distress to the nearby residents.

"The authorities is committed to stamping out this kind of criminality in the nation, by boosting funds to address illegal dumping, employing more officers and enacting tougher checks and sanctions for those who flout the rules."

The apprehensions were executed on Thursday by personnel from a dedicated serious crime team and are in addition to an previous detention of a man in his thirties from the Surrey region in the autumn. He was set free subject to further enquiries.