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Two individuals have been arrested as an element of an probe into the dumping of many thousands of metric tons of waste in a open field in Oxfordshire.

Authorities indicated that a 69-year-old was detained at a residence in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was arrested in the town of Slough in relation with the huge mound of rubbish dumped near the area of Kidlington.

These apprehensions come after a recent investigation which revealed the operation of more than 500 unlawful sites throughout England, featuring at least 11 so-called "super sites" greater than 20,000 tons.

A spokeswoman for the regulatory authorities stated that the arrests were for environment-related and money laundering crimes and represented a "crucial step" in active investigations. The apprehended men have been set free on bail.

Magnitude of the Issue

The tipping ground in near Kidlington, positioned between the River Cherwell and the A34 highway, is believed to contain about 21,000 tons of waste in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) high.

This pile of garbage is made up of what appears to be treated residential refuse, chopped up plastics, expanded polystyrene, automobile tires and other household items.

It represents just one of 517 illegal dumps across England, at minimum 11 of which contain more than 20,000 tons of garbage. These encompass a 280,000-tonne location in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The total amount of such bigger locations is expected to be higher, as the environmental body has previously indicated it does not maintain information on volume for all unlawful site.

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

Organised Operations

Law enforcement state a significant number are run by organised crime gangs, who are making profit by asking for much less than licensed operators to accept and landfill rubbish.

Companies have to be liable for disposal fees to use legitimate landfill sites, contingent on the quantity and nature of material they are trying to dispose of, and landfill tax is also levied at just over £126 per tonne.

Public Frustration

Initial efforts to clear the affected dump commenced earlier this month due to concerns over the risk of combustion and the consequences that would have on the adjacent A-road.

A commercial waste removal firm has been granted the job to remediate the location over the following 12 months period at a price of £9.6m.

An compliance officer for the national regulatory team said that the authority would be seeking to claim back the clean-up expenses under asset recovery laws from anyone successfully found guilty at the end of its ongoing case.

She added that these detentions would help "drive the investigation forward" and enable authorities to "investigate more avenues to determine precisely what occurred and who was a party to it".

"This illegal site at the site was an atrocious and deliberate affront on our environment and we understand the local anger at this terrible offence," she stated.

A senior official welcomed the detentions, stating: "This unauthorized dumping of rubbish at Kidlington is appalling and has led to significant detriment to the ecology and anguish to the local community.

"The administration is committed to eliminating this kind of crime in the nation, by increasing financing to combat environmental crime, hiring more personnel and introducing stricter controls and sanctions for those who break the rules."

The apprehensions were executed on a recent Thursday by officers from a specialist organised crime unit and come after an prior apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area in the autumn. He was released awaiting further enquiries.