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

Law enforcement indicated that a 69-year-old was detained at a residence in the town of Andover, while a man in his fifties was detained in Slough in relation with the enormous mound of garbage deposited near Kidlington.

These apprehensions follow a recent revelation which uncovered the existence of in excess of 500 unlawful tips across England, including at least 11 so-called "large-scale sites" bigger than 20,000 tons.

A representative for the environmental body said that the apprehensions were for ecological and money laundering violations and represented a "vital step" in continuing inquiries. The two individuals have been set free on pre-trial release.

Size of the Issue

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

This mound of garbage is made up of what seems to be treated domestic rubbish, chopped up plastic items, polystyrene, tyres and assorted household objects.

It represents just a single of 517 unauthorized dumps throughout the country, at minimum 11 of which are estimated to hold in excess of 20,000 metric tons of waste. These feature a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The total figure of such larger locations is expected to be larger, as the environmental authority has earlier acknowledged it does not possess information on weight for each illegal site.

The majority these sites are in agricultural settings, often hidden, and on land that is intended to be arable land.

Organized Enterprise

Authorities report many are operated by organised crime gangs, who are making cash by asking for far less than legitimate operators to accept and landfill waste.

Companies have to pay disposal fees to use legitimate disposal sites, based on the quantity and type of material they are trying to dispose of, and a disposal levy is also applied at just over £126 per ton.

Public Outrage

Initial work to remove the affected site began recently amid fears over the threat of combustion and the impact that would have on the nearby A-road.

A private waste removal company has been awarded the contract to handle the site over the next 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An investigations manager for the national regulatory unit said that the body would be aiming to recoup the clean-up funds under confiscation acts from any individual found guilty at the conclusion of its current case.

She noted that this week's arrests would help "drive the probe forward" and allow the agency to "follow more leads to determine precisely what happened and who was a party to it".

"The unauthorized dump at the site was an shocking and deliberate affront on our environment and officials empathize with the local frustration at this horrific act," she stated.

A senior official welcomed the arrests, stating: "The unlawful tipping of garbage at this location is disgraceful and has caused considerable damage to the natural world and upset to the surrounding residents.

"Our authorities is committed to eliminating this category of criminality in the country, by boosting financing to combat environmental crime, employing more officers and enacting stricter measures and fines for those who break the rules."

The arrests were made on a recent Thursday by officers from a regional crime unit and follow an prior arrest of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area region in the autumn. He was let go pending additional enquiries.