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Two men have been taken into custody as an element of an investigation into the tipping of thousands of tonnes of refuse in a open field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement indicated that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a residence in Andover, Hampshire, while a man in his fifties was detained in the town of Slough in relation with the huge pile of waste deposited near Kidlington.

These apprehensions follow a previous investigation which revealed the operation of more than 500 illegal sites across the country of England, encompassing at least 11 so-called "major sites" larger than 20,000 tonnes.

A official for the environment agency stated that the apprehensions were for environmental and money laundering crimes and represented a "vital step" in continuing investigations. The two individuals have been released on conditional release.

Size of the Problem

The illegal site in the Kidlington area, positioned between the River Cherwell and the A34 highway, is estimated to hold around 21,000 tons of waste in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) in height.

This heap of garbage is consists of what seems to be sorted household refuse, shredded plastic items, polystyrene, tires and various domestic articles.

It is just one of 517 unlawful sites in England, at a minimum of 11 of which hold in excess of 20,000 tonnes of garbage. These encompass a 280,000-tonne area in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The actual number of such major dumps is expected to be greater, as the environmental body has earlier indicated it does not maintain records on volume for all illegal tip.

The majority these sites are in countryside settings, typically out of sight, and on land that is zoned as agricultural property.

Organized Enterprise

Police report numerous are managed by organized crime groups, who are generating money by asking for much less than legitimate companies to take and bury rubbish.

Firms have to be liable for gate fees to use legitimate waste facilities, contingent on the quantity and type of material they are trying to discard, and a disposal levy is also levied at just over £126 per ton.

Public Outrage

Preparation operations to clear the Kidlington area location began in recent weeks due to fears over the risk of combustion and the effect that would have on the adjacent highway.

A contracted waste clearance firm has been granted the contract to remediate the location over the coming 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An investigations officer for the national environmental crime unit commented that the body would be aiming to claim back the remediation expenses under confiscation legislation from any party found guilty at the conclusion of its active case.

She further stated that these detentions would help "move the probe forward" and allow authorities to "follow more avenues to understand exactly what happened and who was implicated".

"The illegal tip at Kidlington was an atrocious and intentional attack on our natural surroundings and we share the local anger at this horrific offence," she remarked.

A cabinet representative praised the detentions, adding: "This illegal dumping of garbage at this location is disgraceful and has resulted in considerable harm to the natural world and distress to the nearby population.

"The government is pledged to eradicating this category of illegal activity across the UK, by increasing resources to address illegal dumping, recruiting more staff and introducing more severe checks and fines for those who violate the law."

The arrests were executed on the specified day by officers from a specialist serious crime squad and are in addition to an earlier apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area region in the autumn. He was released subject to additional enquiries.