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Two individuals have been arrested as an element of an investigation into the dumping of many thousands of metric tons of refuse in a rural field in Oxfordshire.

Authorities indicated that a 69-year-old was detained at a property in Andover, Hampshire, while a man in his fifties was taken into custody in Slough in connection with the massive heap of rubbish tipped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These apprehensions occur a week after a prior report which exposed the operation of over 500 unauthorized tips throughout the country of England, featuring at minimum 11 so-called "major sites" larger than 20,000 tons.

A representative for the regulatory body said that the arrests were for ecological and proceeds of crime offences and constituted a "crucial step" in ongoing inquiries. Both men have been set free on conditional release.

Scale of the Situation

The dump in the Kidlington area, located between the river Cherwell and the A34 highway, is estimated to house around 21,000 metric tons of waste in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) tall.

This heap of rubbish is made up of what appears to be sorted household waste, chopped up plastic materials, Styrofoam, automobile tires and other everyday articles.

It constitutes just one example of 517 unauthorized dumps throughout the country, at minimum 11 of which contain in excess of 20,000 metric tons of garbage. Such sites feature a 280,000-tonne site in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne dump in the county of Kent.

The total figure of such major dumps is likely to be greater, as the environmental body has in the past acknowledged it does not hold records on tonnage for all illegal tip.

The majority such locations are in rural areas, often out of sight, and on land that is intended to be agricultural property.

Criminal Enterprise

Law enforcement report a significant number are operated by organized crime groups, who are earning profit by demanding much less than licensed firms to take and bury rubbish.

Firms have to be liable for gate fees to use legitimate disposal sites, contingent on the volume and category of waste they are trying to dispose of, and landfill tax is also applied at just over £126 per ton.

Local Outrage

Preparation operations to remove the affected dump began recently due to concerns over the threat of fire and the consequences that would have on the nearby highway.

A commercial waste removal company has been given the job to deal with the location over the coming 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An investigations officer for the national environment team said that the body would be looking to claim back the clean-up funds under confiscation legislation from any party found guilty at the conclusion of its ongoing investigation.

She noted that this week's detentions would help "move the inquiry forward" and allow the agency to "investigate more avenues to determine exactly what happened and who was implicated".

"This unlawful tip at Kidlington was an shocking and calculated assault on our environment and the authorities share the public's frustration at this egregious crime," she said.

A senior official supported the arrests, commenting: "This illegal dumping of garbage at the site is utterly appalling and has resulted in substantial damage to the ecology and anguish to the local population.

"The authorities is committed to stamping out this type of criminality across the nation, by augmenting resources to tackle waste crime, recruiting more personnel and implementing tougher measures and fines for those who break the rules."

The arrests were carried out on the specified day by agents from a specialist organised crime team and are in addition to an previous apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Surrey region in last November. He was set free pending additional enquiries.