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A pair of individuals have been arrested as an element of an inquiry into the illegal deposit of many thousands of tonnes of waste in a field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Officials stated that a man in his late sixties was apprehended at a property in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in Slough, Berkshire in relation with the enormous mound of garbage deposited near Kidlington.

These detentions follow a previous report which exposed the operation of more than 500 illegal tips in England, featuring at least 11 so-called "major sites" bigger than 20,000 tonnes.

A spokeswoman for the regulatory authorities commented that the apprehensions were for environmental and money laundering crimes and were a "key step" in ongoing probes. The apprehended men have been let go on bail.

Scale of the Situation

The illegal site in the Kidlington area, situated between the Cherwell River and the A34 highway, is estimated to house about 21,000 metric tons of rubbish in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) high.

This pile of garbage is consists of what seems to be processed household waste, shredded plastic materials, polystyrene, tires and other household objects.

It represents just a single of 517 unauthorized dumps across the country, at a minimum of 11 of which hold in excess of 20,000 tonnes of garbage. Such sites feature a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire county and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The total figure of such larger dumps is expected to be higher, as the regulatory authority has previously indicated it does not possess data on volume for each illegal tip.

A large proportion of such locations are in rural settings, often out of sight, and on land that should be agricultural property.

Organized Activity

Authorities say many are operated by organized crime groups, who are generating money by charging far less than lawful firms to accept and landfill waste.

Businesses have to incur gate fees to use licensed waste facilities, based on the amount and nature of waste they are trying to dispose of, and a disposal levy is also charged at just over £126 per ton.

Local Anger

Initial efforts to clear the affected dump commenced earlier this month amid worries over the potential of combustion and the consequences that would have on the adjacent major road.

A commercial waste clearance contractor has been awarded the contract to remediate the location over the following 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An investigations officer for the country's regulatory unit commented that the agency would be aiming to claim back the clearance funds under asset recovery legislation from anyone successfully convicted at the conclusion of its active inquiry.

She noted that this week's detentions would help "move the inquiry forward" and allow officials to "follow more avenues to ascertain exactly what transpired and who was a party to it".

"This unlawful dump at Kidlington was an shocking and intentional attack on our natural surroundings and the authorities empathize with the community's outrage at this horrific crime," she remarked.

A government official supported the arrests, stating: "This unauthorized deposit of rubbish at this location is disgraceful and has led to considerable harm to the natural world and distress to the local residents.

"The administration is pledged to eliminating this type of criminality throughout the country, by augmenting resources to tackle waste crime, hiring more officers and implementing more severe checks and sanctions for those who break the regulations."

The arrests were made on Thursday by officers from a specialist crime squad and follow an previous apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area in November. He was let go awaiting more enquiries.