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Two men have been detained as a component of an inquiry into the illegal deposit of several thousand of tons of waste in a rural field in Oxfordshire.

Officials indicated that a 69-year-old was arrested at a dwelling in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was detained in Slough in connection with the massive mound of garbage tipped near the area of Kidlington.

These arrests follow a prior revelation which uncovered the existence of over 500 illegal tips throughout the country of England, featuring at a minimum of 11 so-called "major sites" greater than 20,000 tonnes.

A spokeswoman for the regulatory agency stated that the arrests were for environmental and financial crimes and constituted a "key step" in active probes. The apprehended men have been released on pre-trial release.

Scale of the Issue

The dump in Kidlington, positioned between the River Cherwell and the A34 highway, is estimated to contain about 21,000 metric tons of waste in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) high.

This pile of rubbish is made up of what looks to be processed domestic waste, chopped up plastic items, Styrofoam, tires and assorted domestic objects.

It constitutes just a single of 517 unlawful tips throughout England, at minimum 11 of which contain in excess of 20,000 metric tons of rubbish. Such sites include a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The overall number of such larger dumps is expected to be higher, as the environmental authority has in the past stated it does not maintain records on volume for each unauthorized dump.

The majority such locations are in countryside settings, typically out of sight, and on land that is zoned as agricultural ground.

Criminal Enterprise

Authorities state many are operated by criminal organizations, who are generating money by charging significantly less than lawful firms to take and bury rubbish.

Businesses have to incur disposal fees to use legitimate landfill sites, depending on the amount and type of refuse they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also charged at just over £126 per tonne.

Community Frustration

Initial work to clear the affected location commenced earlier this month following fears over the potential of fire and the consequences that would have on the close-by highway.

A contracted waste clearance contractor has been awarded the contract to handle the location over the following 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An enforcement manager for the country's environmental crime unit stated that the authority would be looking to recover the remediation funds under confiscation acts from any party successfully found guilty at the termination of its active case.

She further stated that these apprehensions would help "move the inquiry forward" and permit officials to "investigate more avenues to understand exactly what transpired and who was implicated".

"The illegal site at the site was an appalling and calculated attack on our environment and officials understand the local anger at this horrific offence," she said.

A government minister supported the arrests, stating: "The unlawful tipping of garbage at Kidlington is disgraceful and has caused significant detriment to the environment and upset to the nearby community.

"Our government is dedicated to eradicating this type of criminality across the nation, by boosting financing to tackle waste crime, recruiting more staff and implementing tougher controls and sanctions for those who flout the rules."

The apprehensions were executed on a recent Thursday by officers from a dedicated crime squad and are in addition to an earlier apprehension of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area in the autumn. He was let go awaiting additional investigations.