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Two men have been arrested as an element of an inquiry into the dumping of many thousands of metric tons of waste in a field in Oxfordshire, England.

Officials indicated that a man in his late sixties was detained at a property in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in Slough in relation with the huge mound of rubbish tipped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These detentions follow a previous investigation which uncovered the operation of more than 500 unlawful dumps throughout the country of England, including at a minimum of 11 so-called "major sites" greater than 20,000 tonnes.

A representative for the environmental authorities stated that the apprehensions were for ecological and proceeds of crime offences and were a "key step" in active probes. Both men have been released on pre-trial release.

Magnitude of the Situation

The dump in near Kidlington, located between the river Cherwell and the A34 road, is thought to house about 21,000 tons of waste in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) tall.

This heap of waste is made up of what appears to be processed residential rubbish, chopped up plastics, Styrofoam, tyres and assorted everyday items.

It represents just one example of 517 unlawful tips in the country, at a minimum of 11 of which hold in excess of 20,000 metric tons of garbage. They include a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The overall number of such larger locations is probably to be larger, as the regulatory body has previously indicated it does not maintain information on tonnage for all unlawful tip.

Most these sites are in countryside areas, typically concealed, and on land that should be arable property.

Organized Enterprise

Authorities state many are managed by criminal organizations, who are generating cash by demanding significantly less than licensed firms to accept and dispose of waste.

Companies have to pay gate fees to use legitimate waste facilities, contingent on the amount and type of refuse they are trying to discard, and landfill tax is also levied at just over £126 per tonne.

Community Frustration

Preparation work to clear the affected dump commenced earlier this month due to concerns over the threat of blaze and the consequences that would have on the nearby highway.

A contracted waste removal contractor has been given the contract to remediate the area over the next 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An enforcement manager for the country's environment team said that the body would be seeking to recoup the clearance costs under proceeds of crime acts from anyone convicted at the end of its active investigation.

She added that the recent arrests would help "drive the investigation forward" and permit authorities to "pursue more avenues to determine exactly what transpired and who was involved".

"This illegal site at Kidlington was an shocking and deliberate assault on our environment and officials share the local frustration at this egregious act," she said.

A senior representative supported the detentions, commenting: "This unlawful tipping of rubbish at the site is appalling and has resulted in substantial harm to the environment and distress to the nearby community.

"Our administration is committed to eliminating this category of illegal activity across the nation, by increasing funds to tackle environmental crime, hiring more personnel and enacting stricter controls and fines for those who break the regulations."

The apprehensions were made on the specified day by officers from a specialist organised crime squad and are in addition to an earlier detention of a 39-year-old from the Surrey area in last November. He was released awaiting further investigations.