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Two individuals have been taken into custody as part of an investigation into the dumping of many thousands of tons of waste in a rural field in Oxfordshire.

Officials stated that a 69-year-old was detained at a property in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in the town of Slough in relation with the massive pile of garbage tipped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These arrests occur a week after a recent revelation which exposed the operation of over 500 unauthorized tips throughout England, featuring at a minimum of 11 so-called "major sites" bigger than 20,000 tonnes.

A official for the environmental body said that the apprehensions were for environmental and money laundering crimes and represented a "vital step" in ongoing probes. The two individuals have been let go on bail.

Size of the Issue

The dump in near Kidlington, situated between the Cherwell River and the A34, is estimated to contain around 21,000 tons of rubbish in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) high.

This heap of waste is made up of what appears to be treated residential waste, fragmented plastics, Styrofoam, automobile tires and various domestic items.

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

The actual amount of such bigger sites is likely to be higher, as the regulatory agency has in the past stated it does not possess data on tonnage for every unauthorized site.

A large proportion of sites are in rural locations, frequently out of sight, and on land that is zoned as farm land.

Organised Activity

Law enforcement report many are run by organized crime groups, who are making cash by asking for far less than lawful operators to receive and dispose of waste.

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

Community Outrage

Initial operations to clean up the Kidlington location began recently following concerns over the potential of blaze and the impact that would have on the nearby A-road.

A contracted clean-up contractor has been given the contract to remediate the site over the coming 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An compliance officer for the government regulatory unit stated that the authority would be aiming to recoup the clearance funds under proceeds of crime legislation from anyone found guilty at the conclusion of its ongoing case.

She added that this week's arrests would help "move the inquiry forward" and allow the agency to "follow more avenues to ascertain exactly what happened and who was a party to it".

"This unlawful site at Kidlington was an shocking and intentional attack on our ecology and officials share the public's anger at this terrible crime," she remarked.

A government official welcomed the arrests, adding: "The illegal deposit of waste at this location is disgraceful and has led to considerable damage to the ecology and upset to the surrounding population.

"The authorities is pledged to eliminating this kind of illegal activity across the nation, by increasing resources to combat waste crime, recruiting more officers and enacting stricter checks and fines for those who break the regulations."

The arrests were carried out on the specified day by agents from a specialist crime unit and are in addition to an earlier arrest of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area in November. He was let go awaiting additional enquiries.