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Two individuals have been taken into custody as an element of an inquiry into the tipping of thousands of tonnes of refuse in a rural field in Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement reported that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a property in the town of Andover, while a man in his fifties was detained in the town of Slough in association with the massive mound of garbage dumped near Kidlington.

These detentions occur a week after a recent investigation which revealed the operation of more than 500 illegal sites throughout England, encompassing at minimum 11 so-called "large-scale sites" bigger than 20,000 tonnes.

A official for the regulatory body stated that the detentions were for environmental and money laundering offences and represented a "crucial step" in ongoing probes. The apprehended men have been let go on conditional release.

Scale of the Problem

The dump in near Kidlington, situated between the Cherwell River and the A34 road, is estimated to house about 21,000 tons of refuse in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) high.

This heap of rubbish is composed of what looks to be treated residential refuse, fragmented plastics, Styrofoam, tyres and assorted domestic articles.

It constitutes just one of 517 illegal sites in the country, at a minimum of 11 of which are estimated to hold more than 20,000 tons of garbage. These include a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in the county of Kent.

The actual number of such major sites is probably to be higher, as the regulatory body has in the past acknowledged it does not possess information on tonnage for every unauthorized tip.

The majority such locations are in agricultural locations, typically hidden, and on land that should be farm property.

Organised Activity

Law enforcement state a significant number are run by organized crime groups, who are making money by asking for significantly less than lawful companies to take and landfill rubbish.

Firms have to pay site fees to use lawful disposal sites, depending on the quantity and category of material they are trying to get rid of, and landfill tax is also levied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Public Anger

Preparation operations to clean up the Kidlington area dump started earlier this month amid worries over the potential of combustion and the impact that would have on the nearby highway.

A contracted waste removal company has been granted the contract to deal with the area over the following 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An enforcement officer for the national environmental crime team commented that the body would be aiming to recoup the clean-up expenses under confiscation legislation from any party prosecuted at the termination of its current investigation.

She further stated that these detentions would help "drive the probe forward" and allow authorities to "investigate more leads to understand in detail what happened and who was implicated".

"This illegal tip at the site was an shocking and deliberate assault on our environment and the authorities empathize with the community's outrage at this egregious crime," she said.

A government representative welcomed the actions, adding: "The unlawful dumping of rubbish at this location is utterly appalling and has resulted in considerable detriment to the natural world and upset to the nearby population.

"The government is committed to stamping out this category of crime across the UK, by increasing resources to tackle illegal dumping, hiring more personnel and introducing more severe checks and fines for those who violate the regulations."

The detentions were executed on Thursday by agents from a specialist crime team and follow an prior arrest of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area region in the autumn. He was set free subject to additional enquiries.