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Two individuals have been arrested as part of an investigation into the dumping of several thousand of tons of rubbish in a open field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Officials stated that a man in his late sixties was detained at a property in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in Slough, Berkshire in association with the enormous mound of rubbish tipped near Kidlington.

These apprehensions occur a week after a recent investigation which uncovered the existence of in excess of 500 unlawful tips throughout England, encompassing at least 11 so-called "major sites" greater than 20,000 metric tons.

A official for the regulatory agency commented that the detentions were for environmental and money laundering offences and constituted a "key step" in continuing investigations. Both men have been set free on pre-trial release.

Magnitude of the Problem

The dump in the Kidlington area, positioned between the Cherwell River and the A34 highway, is estimated to hold about 21,000 tons of refuse in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) in height.

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

It constitutes just a single of 517 unauthorized sites in the country, at a minimum of 11 of which hold more than 20,000 metric tons of garbage. Such sites include a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire county and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The total figure of such larger sites is likely to be larger, as the environment authority has in the past indicated it does not possess data on volume for all illegal site.

A large proportion of these sites are in countryside locations, often concealed, and on land that should be farm land.

Criminal Activity

Law enforcement state a significant number are managed by organised crime gangs, who are generating money by demanding significantly less than lawful companies to receive and bury garbage.

Businesses have to pay gate fees to use legitimate disposal sites, based on the amount and type of refuse they are trying to dispose of, and a disposal levy is also charged at just over £126 per metric ton.

Local Frustration

Initial operations to clean up the Kidlington area location commenced recently following worries over the risk of fire and the effect that would have on the adjacent A-road.

A private clean-up company has been awarded the task to handle the site over the coming 12 months period at a price of £9.6m.

An compliance manager for the government regulatory division stated that the body would be seeking to claim back the clean-up funds under confiscation laws from any individual ultimately found guilty at the end of its current investigation.

She noted that the recent arrests would help "move the probe forward" and allow the agency to "follow more leads to ascertain exactly what occurred and who was involved".

"The unauthorized site at Kidlington was an shocking and calculated attack on our ecology and we understand the local frustration at this horrific crime," she said.

A cabinet official praised the detentions, adding: "The unauthorized deposit of garbage at the site is appalling and has resulted in substantial damage to the natural world and distress to the nearby population.

"The government is committed to eliminating this kind of criminality across the country, by increasing financing to combat environmental crime, employing more officers and enacting more severe checks and sanctions for those who break the law."

The arrests were executed on a recent Thursday by officers from a specialist organised crime unit and come after an prior detention of a man in his thirties from the Surrey region in the autumn. He was let go subject to additional inquiries.