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A pair of individuals have been arrested as an element of an inquiry into the illegal deposit of several thousand of tonnes of rubbish in a rural field in Oxfordshire.

Officials reported that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a residence in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in the town of Slough in relation with the massive mound of rubbish tipped near the area of Kidlington.

These apprehensions occur a week after a previous report which revealed the operation of over 500 illegal sites in England, encompassing at minimum 11 so-called "major sites" bigger than 20,000 tons.

A representative for the regulatory authorities commented that the apprehensions were for ecological and money laundering crimes and represented a "key step" in ongoing probes. Both men have been set free on pre-trial release.

Size of the Situation

The illegal site in the Kidlington area, located between the Cherwell River and the A34, is estimated to contain about 21,000 metric tons of waste in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) in height.

This heap of rubbish is consists of what seems to be processed domestic rubbish, fragmented plastics, Styrofoam, tyres and various household items.

It is just one of 517 illegal tips across the country, at a minimum of 11 of which are estimated to hold in excess of 20,000 metric tons of garbage. Such sites encompass a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in the county of Kent.

The actual number of such larger locations is likely to be higher, as the environmental body has previously acknowledged it does not possess records on volume for every unauthorized tip.

Most sites are in rural areas, typically concealed, and on land that is zoned as farm property.

Organized Activity

Police say a significant number are run by criminal organizations, who are making cash by charging significantly less than licensed companies to accept and dispose of garbage.

Businesses have to incur gate fees to use legitimate waste facilities, depending on the quantity and category of waste they are trying to discard, and landfill tax is also charged at just over £126 per metric ton.

Public Frustration

Preparatory operations to clear the affected location began recently amid worries over the threat of fire and the consequences that would have on the close-by major road.

A commercial clean-up contractor has been given the task to deal with the location over the coming 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An investigations officer for the country's environment unit said that the body would be looking to claim back the remediation expenses under asset recovery laws from anyone convicted at the conclusion of its active investigation.

She noted that these detentions would help "move the investigation forward" and permit authorities to "follow more lines of inquiry to determine in detail what occurred and who was a party to it".

"The illegal tip at this location was an shocking and intentional assault on our ecology and officials understand the community's outrage at this horrific act," she remarked.

A government official welcomed the actions, commenting: "This unauthorized deposit of waste at the site is utterly appalling and has resulted in considerable detriment to the ecology and anguish to the nearby residents.

"The government is committed to stamping out this kind of criminality across the country, by augmenting financing to tackle environmental crime, employing more staff and enacting more severe checks and penalties for those who break the law."

The arrests were carried out on a recent Thursday by personnel from a specialist crime team and are in addition to an previous detention of a 39-year-old from the Surrey area in the autumn. He was set free subject to additional enquiries.