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Two men have been taken into custody as an element of an probe into the tipping of several thousand of metric tons of rubbish in a rural field in Oxfordshire.

Authorities stated that a man in his late sixties was detained at a dwelling in the town of Andover, while a man in his fifties was taken into custody in the town of Slough in connection with the enormous mound of rubbish tipped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These apprehensions occur a week after a previous revelation which exposed the presence of over 500 illegal sites across the country of England, including at a minimum of 11 so-called "large-scale sites" larger than 20,000 tonnes.

A representative for the environmental body commented that the arrests were for environmental and money laundering crimes and were a "vital step" in ongoing inquiries. Both men have been released on conditional release.

Scale of the Issue

The dump in near Kidlington, positioned between the River Cherwell and the A34 road, is thought to house about 21,000 metric tons of rubbish in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) high.

This mound of rubbish is consists of what looks to be processed household waste, fragmented plastic items, polystyrene, tires and assorted household articles.

It is just one of 517 unauthorized sites throughout England, at a minimum of 11 of which hold in excess of 20,000 tonnes of waste. Such sites encompass a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The actual amount of such major dumps is likely to be greater, as the environmental authority has previously acknowledged it does not hold data on weight for all illegal dump.

A large proportion of these sites are in countryside locations, frequently hidden, and on land that should be arable land.

Organised Activity

Police state a significant number are operated by organized crime groups, who are earning cash by asking for much less than legitimate companies to accept and landfill rubbish.

Companies have to incur disposal fees to use legitimate waste facilities, based on the quantity and nature of material they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also levied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Public Frustration

Initial work to clear the Kidlington site began in recent weeks due to fears over the risk of blaze and the impact that would have on the adjacent highway.

A private clean-up firm has been granted the task to remediate the area over the coming 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An enforcement officer for the government environmental crime division commented that the agency would be looking to claim back the remediation costs under proceeds of crime legislation from any individual found guilty at the conclusion of its ongoing inquiry.

She added that this week's apprehensions would help "push the investigation forward" and permit the agency to "pursue more leads to understand precisely what occurred and who was implicated".

"This unauthorized tip at the site was an atrocious and deliberate affront on our ecology and the authorities share the local outrage at this horrific crime," she stated.

A senior official praised the detentions, commenting: "The unauthorized tipping of rubbish at Kidlington is disgraceful and has caused substantial damage to the ecology and anguish to the local population.

"Our administration is pledged to eliminating this type of illegal activity throughout the country, by boosting funds to address illegal dumping, hiring more officers and introducing more severe checks and fines for those who violate the rules."

The apprehensions were carried out on a recent Thursday by officers from a specialist serious crime team and follow an prior apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area region in the autumn. He was let go subject to more inquiries.