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Two individuals have been arrested as an element of an investigation into the illegal deposit of many thousands of metric tons of refuse in a open field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement indicated that a 69-year-old was detained at a property in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was detained in the town of Slough in connection with the enormous mound of waste dumped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These detentions follow a previous report which exposed the presence of in excess of 500 unlawful sites in England, featuring at a minimum of 11 so-called "super sites" larger than 20,000 tonnes.

A official for the environment agency stated that the arrests were for ecological and money laundering crimes and represented a "key step" in active inquiries. The apprehended men have been let go on pre-trial release.

Scale of the Issue

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

This heap of rubbish is made up of what seems to be treated residential rubbish, fragmented plastic materials, polystyrene, automobile tires and assorted domestic items.

It constitutes just one of 517 unlawful tips throughout the country, at least 11 of which hold over 20,000 tons of rubbish. They feature a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The total amount of such major dumps is likely to be greater, as the regulatory agency has previously acknowledged it does not possess data on tonnage for every unlawful site.

The majority sites are in agricultural settings, often concealed, and on land that should be arable land.

Organised Enterprise

Authorities say numerous are run by organised crime gangs, who are making profit by demanding significantly less than legitimate companies to accept and dispose of waste.

Businesses have to be liable for disposal fees to use licensed landfill sites, depending on the amount and category of waste they are trying to get rid of, and a waste tax is also levied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Local Anger

Preparation work to clean up the affected dump began in recent weeks due to concerns over the potential of combustion and the consequences that would have on the close-by A-road.

A private waste removal contractor has been awarded the task to handle the area over the following 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An compliance officer for the national environmental crime team said that the body would be looking to recoup the clearance funds under asset recovery acts from anyone successfully convicted at the end of its ongoing case.

She noted that these detentions would help "push the inquiry forward" and permit officials to "investigate more lines of inquiry to understand in detail what occurred and who was involved".

"The unlawful tip at the site was an appalling and intentional attack on our environment and we share the local outrage at this terrible act," she remarked.

A senior minister welcomed the actions, stating: "This illegal tipping of waste at Kidlington is appalling and has resulted in significant harm to the natural world and anguish to the nearby community.

"Our administration is pledged to eliminating this kind of crime throughout the nation, by increasing resources to address illegal dumping, recruiting more officers and implementing tougher checks and penalties for those who violate the regulations."

The apprehensions were made on Thursday by agents from a specialist organised crime unit and follow an prior detention of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area in the autumn. He was released pending more enquiries.