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Two men have been taken into custody as a component of an investigation into the tipping of many thousands of tonnes of refuse in a open field in Oxfordshire.

Authorities indicated that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a residence in the town of Andover, while a man in his fifties was arrested in Slough, Berkshire in association with the enormous heap of waste dumped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These arrests occur a week after a previous report which uncovered the existence of more than 500 unauthorized sites throughout England, including at least 11 so-called "large-scale sites" larger than 20,000 metric tons.

A spokeswoman for the regulatory authorities stated that the arrests were for ecological and money laundering crimes and constituted a "crucial step" in active probes. The two individuals have been released on conditional release.

Size of the Situation

The illegal site in the Kidlington area, situated between the river Cherwell and the A34 road, is thought to house about 21,000 metric tons of waste in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) high.

This mound of garbage is composed of what appears to be treated residential refuse, fragmented plastics, Styrofoam, tyres and other household objects.

It represents just one example of 517 unauthorized sites throughout England, at least 11 of which contain more than 20,000 metric tons of garbage. Such sites encompass a 280,000-tonne site in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The total amount of such major sites is expected to be higher, as the environment body has earlier indicated it does not maintain records on tonnage for each unlawful site.

Most such locations are in countryside locations, typically out of sight, and on land that is zoned as farm property.

Criminal Enterprise

Authorities say numerous are run by organized crime groups, who are earning profit by charging far less than licensed operators to take and dispose of garbage.

Firms have to incur site fees to use legitimate waste facilities, based on the quantity and category of waste they are trying to discard, and a waste tax is also levied at just over £126 per ton.

Public Outrage

Preparation work to clear the Kidlington location commenced earlier this month following worries over the threat of combustion and the effect that would have on the close-by A-road.

A contracted clean-up contractor has been granted the task to remediate the site over the following 12 months period at a expense of £9.6m.

An enforcement official for the national environment unit commented that the agency would be looking to claim back the clearance costs under confiscation acts from anyone ultimately found guilty at the termination of its active case.

She further stated that the recent detentions would help "push the investigation forward" and allow authorities to "follow more lines of inquiry to ascertain in detail what occurred and who was a party to it".

"This unauthorized site at Kidlington was an shocking and calculated attack on our natural surroundings and officials understand the public's anger at this horrific offence," she stated.

A senior official welcomed the detentions, stating: "The unauthorized dumping of garbage at the site is disgraceful and has caused significant damage to the environment and anguish to the nearby community.

"The government is dedicated to eradicating this kind of illegal activity in the nation, by increasing funds to combat illegal dumping, hiring more staff and implementing stricter checks and fines for those who break the rules."

The arrests were carried out on Thursday by officers from a specialist serious crime squad and come after an earlier apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Surrey area in last November. He was let go awaiting additional inquiries.