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Two individuals have been taken into custody as an element of an inquiry into the tipping of several thousand of tons of refuse in a open field in Oxfordshire.

Officials stated that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a dwelling in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in Slough, Berkshire in connection with the enormous heap of waste dumped near Kidlington.

These arrests follow a prior investigation which revealed the existence of over 500 illegal sites throughout England, featuring at minimum 11 so-called "large-scale sites" greater than 20,000 tons.

A representative for the environment authorities stated that the apprehensions were for ecological and money laundering offences and were a "key step" in continuing probes. Both men have been released on bail.

Magnitude of the Issue

The tipping ground in near Kidlington, situated between the River Cherwell and the A34 highway, is believed to house about 21,000 tons of refuse in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) in height.

This pile of waste is composed of what looks to be sorted residential refuse, fragmented plastics, polystyrene, tires and assorted everyday items.

It constitutes just one example of 517 illegal tips throughout England, at a minimum of 11 of which are estimated to hold in excess of 20,000 tons of garbage. They include a 280,000-tonne area in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire county and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne site in the county of Kent.

The actual figure of such larger locations is probably to be larger, as the environment body has in the past indicated it does not possess records on tonnage for each unlawful tip.

The majority such locations are in agricultural locations, often hidden, and on land that is zoned as farm property.

Organised Activity

Police say numerous are run by organised crime gangs, who are generating profit by asking for much less than legitimate operators to take and bury rubbish.

Companies have to be liable for disposal fees to use lawful disposal sites, based on the quantity and category of material they are trying to discard, and a disposal levy is also applied at just over £126 per ton.

Public Anger

Preparatory work to clean up the affected location began earlier this month due to concerns over the threat of combustion and the impact that would have on the close-by highway.

A commercial clean-up firm has been awarded the task to handle the site over the following 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An enforcement official for the national environmental crime unit commented that the body would be aiming to recoup the clean-up funds under proceeds of crime legislation from any party ultimately prosecuted at the end of its ongoing investigation.

She noted that the recent apprehensions would help "push the inquiry forward" and allow authorities to "pursue more lines of inquiry to understand in detail what transpired and who was involved".

"The illegal site at Kidlington was an shocking and intentional attack on our natural surroundings and the authorities empathize with the community's anger at this horrific act," she remarked.

A senior official welcomed the actions, adding: "This unauthorized dumping of garbage at the site is appalling and has led to substantial harm to the environment and anguish to the surrounding community.

"Our authorities is dedicated to stamping out this kind of criminality throughout the country, by boosting financing to address illegal dumping, employing more staff and introducing tougher checks and penalties for those who violate the regulations."

The apprehensions were made on a recent Thursday by officers from a regional organised crime squad and are in addition to an earlier arrest of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area region in last November. He was released awaiting further investigations.