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Two men have been taken into custody as part of an inquiry into the tipping of many thousands of tonnes of waste in a rural field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement indicated that a 69-year-old was detained at a residence in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in the town of Slough in connection with the enormous pile of rubbish deposited near the area of Kidlington.

These detentions follow a prior revelation which revealed the presence of over 500 unauthorized tips throughout the country of England, featuring at minimum 11 so-called "super sites" greater than 20,000 tons.

A official for the environment agency commented that the detentions were for ecological and money laundering offences and represented a "key step" in ongoing inquiries. The two individuals have been set free on bail.

Size of the Problem

The tipping ground in Kidlington, located between the Cherwell River and the A34 highway, is thought to house about 21,000 metric tons of waste in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) tall.

This heap of rubbish is made up of what appears to be sorted household waste, chopped up plastic items, polystyrene, tires and other domestic objects.

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

The actual amount of such major sites is expected to be higher, as the environment authority has in the past indicated it does not hold records on tonnage for every illegal dump.

A large proportion of these sites are in rural settings, frequently out of sight, and on land that is zoned as arable land.

Organized Operations

Law enforcement report a significant number are managed by criminal organizations, who are making money by demanding much less than licensed companies to receive and landfill waste.

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

Public Outrage

Preparatory efforts to clean up the Kidlington area site started recently following concerns over the threat of blaze and the effect that would have on the adjacent highway.

A commercial clean-up firm has been given the job to deal with the area over the next 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An enforcement official for the country's regulatory team commented that the agency would be looking to recover the clearance expenses under confiscation legislation from any individual successfully prosecuted at the termination of its ongoing case.

She added that these apprehensions would help "drive the probe forward" and permit the agency to "follow more leads to determine exactly what occurred and who was involved".

"This unlawful tip at this location was an appalling and calculated attack on our natural surroundings and we empathize with the community's outrage at this horrific crime," she stated.

A senior minister praised the actions, commenting: "The illegal tipping of waste at this location is appalling and has led to significant harm to the environment and distress to the local community.

"The authorities is committed to eradicating this type of criminality across the country, by increasing financing to address illegal dumping, employing more personnel and introducing stricter controls and penalties for those who flout the law."

The arrests were executed on the specified day by personnel from a specialist serious crime squad and come after an previous arrest of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area area in last November. He was let go awaiting further investigations.