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Two individuals have been detained as part of an inquiry into the tipping of several thousand of tons of rubbish in a open field in Oxfordshire.

Officials reported that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a residence in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in Slough, Berkshire in relation with the huge mound of waste dumped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These apprehensions come after a previous report which exposed the operation of more than 500 unlawful sites in the country of England, featuring at minimum 11 so-called "major sites" larger than 20,000 tonnes.

A representative for the environmental body stated that the arrests were for ecological and proceeds of crime crimes and represented a "crucial step" in active investigations. The two individuals have been set free on pre-trial release.

Scale of the Problem

The dump in the Kidlington area, situated between the river Cherwell and the A34 highway, is thought to contain about 21,000 tons of rubbish in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) high.

This mound of garbage is made up of what looks to be treated domestic rubbish, shredded plastic materials, expanded polystyrene, tires and assorted everyday objects.

It constitutes just one example of 517 illegal sites throughout England, at least 11 of which are estimated to hold more than 20,000 metric tons of garbage. Such sites feature a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in the county of Kent.

The actual number of such major dumps is expected to be greater, as the environment body has earlier acknowledged it does not possess data on weight for each illegal dump.

A large proportion of such locations are in countryside areas, frequently out of sight, and on land that is intended to be agricultural property.

Criminal Operations

Police say a significant number are operated by organized crime groups, who are generating cash by asking for far less than lawful firms to take and dispose of garbage.

Firms have to pay gate fees to use lawful disposal sites, contingent on the quantity and category of waste they are trying to discard, and a disposal levy is also applied at just over £126 per ton.

Community Frustration

Initial operations to clear the affected site started recently due to worries over the threat of blaze and the consequences that would have on the adjacent A-road.

A commercial waste clearance firm has been awarded the contract to remediate the site over the coming 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An compliance manager for the country's environmental crime team said that the agency would be seeking to recoup the remediation funds under proceeds of crime acts from any party ultimately convicted at the end of its active investigation.

She further stated that these arrests would help "move the inquiry forward" and enable officials to "follow more lines of inquiry to ascertain exactly what happened and who was a party to it".

"The illegal site at Kidlington was an shocking and deliberate attack on our environment and the authorities empathize with the public's anger at this horrific act," she said.

A cabinet minister welcomed the actions, commenting: "The unauthorized dumping of waste at Kidlington is utterly appalling and has resulted in considerable damage to the natural world and anguish to the nearby residents.

"The administration is dedicated to eradicating this type of illegal activity throughout the country, by increasing resources to address environmental crime, employing more officers and implementing tougher measures and fines for those who break the rules."

The detentions were executed on the specified day by officers from a regional serious crime unit and follow an previous apprehension of a man in his thirties from the Surrey region in November. He was released pending additional enquiries.