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Two individuals have been taken into custody as a component of an inquiry into the tipping of several thousand of metric tons of rubbish in a field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Officials stated that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a residence in Hampshire's Andover, while a man in his fifties was detained in Slough in connection with the massive mound of rubbish deposited near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These apprehensions occur a week after a previous investigation which revealed the presence of in excess of 500 illegal tips across England, featuring at a minimum of 11 so-called "major sites" greater than 20,000 tonnes.

A spokeswoman for the environment body stated that the detentions were for environmental and proceeds of crime crimes and constituted a "key step" in ongoing inquiries. Both men have been released on conditional release.

Magnitude of the Issue

The illegal site in the Kidlington area, located between the Cherwell River and the A34, is estimated to contain about 21,000 tons of refuse in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) in height.

This pile of garbage is composed of what appears to be processed household waste, shredded plastics, Styrofoam, tires and other household articles.

It constitutes just one example of 517 unauthorized tips throughout England, at a minimum of 11 of which hold in excess of 20,000 metric tons of rubbish. They include a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire county and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne tip in the county of Kent.

The actual figure of such larger dumps is likely to be larger, as the environment body has in the past stated it does not hold data on tonnage for all unlawful site.

The majority sites are in rural settings, typically out of sight, and on land that should be arable land.

Organized Enterprise

Police say a significant number are operated by organised crime gangs, who are generating money by charging much less than licensed operators to take and bury waste.

Firms have to incur site fees to use licensed disposal sites, contingent on the volume and category of refuse they are trying to discard, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per tonne.

Local Outrage

Preparatory efforts to clean up the affected dump started earlier this month amid fears over the threat of fire and the effect that would have on the close-by highway.

A private clean-up company has been given the contract to handle the location over the coming 12 months period at a cost of £9.6m.

An enforcement manager for the national environmental crime team stated that the authority would be looking to recover the clearance costs under proceeds of crime acts from any party successfully convicted at the conclusion of its active investigation.

She noted that the recent apprehensions would help "move the inquiry forward" and enable authorities to "pursue more leads to determine exactly what occurred and who was implicated".

"This unlawful tip at this location was an shocking and calculated attack on our ecology and officials share the community's outrage at this horrific offence," she said.

A senior representative praised the actions, stating: "This unauthorized tipping of waste at the site is appalling and has caused substantial damage to the natural world and anguish to the surrounding residents.

"The authorities is pledged to eradicating this kind of illegal activity throughout the nation, by augmenting resources to combat waste crime, employing more personnel and enacting more severe checks and penalties for those who violate the rules."

The arrests were executed on Thursday by personnel from a regional crime unit and come after an prior detention of a 39-year-old from the Surrey region in last November. He was released awaiting more investigations.