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Two men have been arrested as part of an investigation into the tipping of several thousand of tonnes of waste in a open field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement indicated that a 69-year-old was detained at a residence in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was detained in Slough in association with the huge heap of garbage deposited near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These detentions occur a week after a prior investigation which uncovered the operation of in excess of 500 illegal tips throughout England, featuring at minimum 11 so-called "super sites" bigger than 20,000 metric tons.

A official for the regulatory authorities said that the arrests were for ecological and money laundering crimes and represented a "vital step" in ongoing inquiries. The apprehended men have been released on pre-trial release.

Scale of the Situation

The dump in Kidlington, located between the Cherwell River and the A34, is thought to contain about 21,000 tonnes of waste 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 treated residential waste, chopped up plastics, polystyrene, automobile tires and assorted domestic items.

It constitutes just one example of 517 unauthorized dumps throughout the country, at least 11 of which hold more than 20,000 tons of garbage. These encompass 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 site in the county of Kent.

The actual number of such larger locations is expected to be greater, as the environmental authority has earlier stated it does not maintain data on tonnage for all illegal dump.

Most these sites are in agricultural areas, frequently hidden, and on land that should be arable ground.

Criminal Enterprise

Authorities say many are managed by organized crime groups, who are making profit by asking for significantly less than lawful firms to take and dispose of rubbish.

Companies have to pay site fees to use licensed disposal sites, depending on the volume and category of waste they are trying to discard, and a disposal levy is also applied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Community Frustration

Preparation work to clear the Kidlington dump started in recent weeks due to concerns over the risk of blaze and the consequences that would have on the close-by highway.

A contracted waste clearance firm has been given the job to deal with the site over the following 12 months period at a cost of £9.6m.

An investigations official for the government regulatory unit said that the agency would be looking to recover the remediation expenses under asset recovery legislation from any party prosecuted at the conclusion of its ongoing case.

She added that the recent arrests would help "move the inquiry forward" and enable officials to "investigate more avenues to determine precisely what transpired and who was involved".

"The unlawful site at the site was an appalling and calculated assault on our natural surroundings and we understand the local anger at this egregious offence," she remarked.

A senior official supported the detentions, stating: "The illegal deposit of rubbish at this location is disgraceful and has led to considerable harm to the ecology and upset to the local residents.

"The administration is committed to eradicating this type of crime across the UK, by boosting funds to combat illegal dumping, hiring more personnel and introducing stricter checks and fines for those who break the law."

The apprehensions were executed on Thursday by officers from a specialist serious crime team and come after an earlier arrest of a 39-year-old from the Guildford region in the autumn. He was released awaiting additional inquiries.