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Two individuals have been arrested as a component of an inquiry into the tipping of several thousand of metric tons of waste in a open field in Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement stated that a 69-year-old was arrested at a dwelling in the town of Andover, while a man in his fifties was taken into custody in Slough, Berkshire in connection with the huge pile of garbage deposited near the area of Kidlington.

These arrests follow a previous report which uncovered the presence of over 500 illegal tips in England, featuring at a minimum of 11 so-called "major sites" greater than 20,000 tonnes.

A official for the environmental authorities stated that the detentions were for environment-related and money laundering violations and represented a "key step" in active inquiries. Both men have been let go on conditional release.

Size of the Situation

The tipping ground in near Kidlington, situated between the Cherwell River and the A34, is believed to house around 21,000 tonnes of rubbish in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) tall.

This mound of garbage is made up of what appears to be treated domestic refuse, fragmented plastic items, polystyrene, automobile tires and assorted household articles.

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

The actual number of such bigger dumps is expected to be greater, as the regulatory authority has earlier stated it does not possess information on volume for all illegal site.

The majority sites are in rural locations, frequently hidden, and on land that is zoned as farm land.

Organised Activity

Authorities state numerous are operated by organised crime gangs, who are generating profit by asking for much less than lawful operators to accept and landfill waste.

Companies have to pay gate fees to use licensed disposal sites, depending on the amount and nature of waste they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also levied at just over £126 per ton.

Public Outrage

Preparatory work to clear the Kidlington site started earlier this month following worries over the threat of fire and the consequences that would have on the close-by A-road.

A private waste removal company has been awarded the job to deal with the location over the coming 12 months period at a price of £9.6m.

An enforcement manager for the country's environmental crime team commented that the agency would be aiming to recoup the clearance costs under proceeds of crime legislation from anyone convicted at the end of its ongoing case.

She added that these arrests would help "push the inquiry forward" and enable authorities to "follow more avenues to determine precisely what transpired and who was implicated".

"This illegal dump at the site was an shocking and deliberate assault on our natural surroundings and we empathize with the local frustration at this horrific offence," she stated.

A government representative supported the detentions, adding: "This unlawful deposit of waste at the site is disgraceful and has caused substantial harm to the natural world and distress to the nearby community.

"The administration is dedicated to stamping out this kind of illegal activity throughout the country, by boosting funds to combat environmental crime, recruiting more staff and enacting tougher checks and penalties for those who violate the rules."

The arrests were executed on a recent Thursday by personnel from a specialist crime unit and are in addition to an prior apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Surrey area in last November. He was set free pending additional investigations.