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A pair of individuals have been arrested as a component of an probe into the illegal deposit of many thousands of metric tons of rubbish in a field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Officials indicated that a 69-year-old was detained at a property in Hampshire's Andover, while a man in his fifties was taken into custody in Slough, Berkshire in association with the huge heap of garbage deposited near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These apprehensions follow a prior report which revealed the existence of in excess of 500 unlawful tips throughout the country of England, encompassing at least 11 so-called "large-scale sites" greater than 20,000 tonnes.

A official for the environmental agency commented that the apprehensions were for ecological and money laundering crimes and constituted a "crucial step" in ongoing investigations. The two individuals have been set free on pre-trial release.

Scale of the Situation

The dump in the Kidlington area, situated between the Cherwell River and the A34 highway, is believed to hold around 21,000 tonnes of refuse in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) tall.

This pile of rubbish is consists of what looks to be processed residential rubbish, chopped up plastic items, expanded polystyrene, tires and other household articles.

It represents just one of 517 illegal dumps across England, at least 11 of which are estimated to hold in excess of 20,000 tonnes of waste. They include a 280,000-tonne location in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The overall figure of such major dumps is probably to be higher, as the environmental body has in the past indicated it does not maintain information on volume for every illegal tip.

A large proportion of sites are in countryside locations, frequently out of sight, and on land that should be farm land.

Organised Operations

Law enforcement report numerous are run by organised crime gangs, who are generating profit by charging much less than lawful companies to accept and dispose of waste.

Companies have to be liable for site fees to use lawful landfill sites, depending on the amount and nature of material they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also charged at just over £126 per ton.

Public Anger

Initial efforts to clean up the affected location started in recent weeks due to concerns over the threat of combustion and the effect that would have on the adjacent A-road.

A private waste removal contractor has been given the task to handle the area over the next 12 months period at a expense of £9.6m.

An investigations official for the national regulatory division commented that the authority would be aiming to claim back the clean-up costs under asset recovery laws from any party ultimately convicted at the end of its ongoing inquiry.

She noted that this week's apprehensions would help "drive the probe forward" and permit officials to "follow more avenues to ascertain in detail what occurred and who was involved".

"The illegal dump at Kidlington was an shocking and calculated affront on our environment and officials empathize with the public's anger at this egregious act," she said.

A senior official supported the arrests, adding: "This unlawful dumping of rubbish at this location is disgraceful and has resulted in substantial damage to the environment and distress to the local residents.

"The authorities is committed to eradicating this type of crime in the nation, by augmenting funds to tackle waste crime, hiring more staff and introducing stricter checks and sanctions for those who violate the law."

The detentions were made on a recent Thursday by agents from a regional serious crime squad and come after an prior detention of a man in his thirties from the Surrey area in November. He was set free awaiting more enquiries.