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A pair of individuals have been taken into custody as a component of an inquiry into the tipping of many thousands of tons of rubbish in a open field in Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement stated that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a property in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was detained in Slough, Berkshire in association with the enormous mound of garbage deposited near Kidlington.

These detentions come after a recent revelation which exposed the presence of more than 500 unauthorized dumps in England, including at a minimum of 11 so-called "major sites" bigger than 20,000 tonnes.

A official for the regulatory authorities stated that the arrests were for ecological and money laundering violations and represented a "vital step" in continuing investigations. The two individuals have been set free on pre-trial release.

Scale of the Problem

The dump in near Kidlington, situated between the River Cherwell and the A34, is thought to house about 21,000 tonnes of rubbish in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) high.

This pile of garbage is consists of what seems to be processed residential waste, shredded plastic materials, polystyrene, tires and various everyday items.

It represents just one of 517 illegal dumps across England, at minimum 11 of which are estimated to hold over 20,000 tons of garbage. Such sites feature a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in the county of Kent.

The overall figure of such major dumps is expected to be greater, as the environment body has in the past indicated it does not possess data on weight for every unauthorized site.

A large proportion of these sites are in rural locations, often out of sight, and on land that is zoned as agricultural property.

Organised Activity

Law enforcement say a significant number are managed by organised crime gangs, who are making profit by demanding much less than licensed firms to receive and landfill rubbish.

Companies have to be liable for gate fees to use licensed landfill sites, depending on the amount and category of refuse they are trying to dispose of, and a disposal levy is also applied at just over £126 per ton.

Community Outrage

Initial operations to clean up the Kidlington site began recently following fears over the threat of fire and the impact that would have on the nearby A-road.

A commercial waste removal company has been given the task to handle the site over the following 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An compliance official for the country's environment division commented that the agency would be looking to recoup the clean-up expenses under asset recovery legislation from any party successfully found guilty at the conclusion of its ongoing investigation.

She further stated that this week's arrests would help "push the investigation forward" and allow the agency to "investigate more leads to understand exactly what transpired and who was a party to it".

"The illegal site at this location was an shocking and intentional attack on our natural surroundings and the authorities understand the community's anger at this horrific offence," she remarked.

A government minister praised the detentions, commenting: "The illegal deposit of waste at Kidlington is utterly appalling and has led to considerable harm to the natural world and upset to the nearby community.

"Our government is dedicated to eliminating this type of illegal activity across the nation, by boosting resources to address waste crime, employing more personnel and introducing more severe controls and penalties for those who violate the rules."

The arrests were executed on Thursday by officers from a regional organised crime team and come after an previous arrest of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area in last November. He was released awaiting more investigations.