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Two men have been taken into custody as a component of an inquiry into the tipping of many thousands of tons of waste in a open field in Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement reported that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a residence in Hampshire's Andover, while a man in his fifties was taken into custody in Slough, Berkshire in connection with the massive heap of rubbish tipped near the area of Kidlington.

These arrests come after a previous revelation which exposed the operation of in excess of 500 illegal sites across the country of England, encompassing at a minimum of 11 so-called "super sites" larger than 20,000 metric tons.

A spokeswoman for the environment authorities stated that the arrests were for environmental and money laundering violations and constituted a "vital step" in ongoing inquiries. The two individuals have been released on conditional release.

Scale of the Problem

The tipping ground in Kidlington, located between the River Cherwell and the A34 highway, is estimated to house approximately 21,000 tonnes of rubbish in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) high.

This heap of waste is consists of what appears to be processed domestic rubbish, chopped up plastic materials, Styrofoam, tyres and various household items.

It is just one of 517 unauthorized sites in England, at a minimum of 11 of which hold over 20,000 tons of waste. These encompass a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in the county of Kent.

The actual figure of such bigger sites is expected to be larger, as the environmental authority has previously indicated it does not maintain data on weight for every illegal dump.

The majority sites are in agricultural locations, frequently hidden, and on land that is intended to be agricultural land.

Organised Activity

Authorities report numerous are run by criminal organizations, who are earning money by charging much less than licensed firms to receive and landfill waste.

Businesses have to be liable for disposal fees to use lawful waste facilities, depending on the quantity and nature of refuse they are trying to dispose of, and a disposal levy is also applied at just over £126 per tonne.

Local Frustration

Preparatory work to clear the Kidlington location started recently following worries over the threat of combustion and the consequences that would have on the adjacent highway.

A contracted clean-up company has been awarded the task to handle the area over the next 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An enforcement official for the country's regulatory unit stated that the agency would be looking to recover the remediation expenses under proceeds of crime legislation from anyone ultimately prosecuted at the conclusion of its current investigation.

She added that these detentions would help "drive the inquiry forward" and permit the agency to "pursue more lines of inquiry to ascertain exactly what transpired and who was a party to it".

"The unlawful dump at this location was an appalling and deliberate attack on our environment and officials understand the local frustration at this horrific offence," she remarked.

A senior representative supported the arrests, stating: "The unauthorized tipping of garbage at Kidlington is appalling and has led to substantial harm to the natural world and anguish to the surrounding residents.

"Our authorities is committed to eliminating this type of crime throughout the nation, by augmenting financing to address illegal dumping, hiring more personnel and introducing stricter controls and penalties for those who flout the regulations."

The apprehensions were executed on a recent Thursday by agents from a dedicated serious crime unit and come after an previous detention of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area area in last November. He was released awaiting additional inquiries.