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A pair of individuals have been taken into custody as part of an probe into the dumping of several thousand of tons of waste in a rural field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Officials reported that a 69-year-old was arrested at a residence in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in Slough, Berkshire in relation with the massive mound of garbage dumped near the area of Kidlington.

These arrests follow a recent revelation which uncovered the presence of more than 500 illegal dumps throughout England, featuring at minimum 11 so-called "large-scale sites" greater than 20,000 tonnes.

A official for the environment body commented that the detentions were for environment-related and proceeds of crime crimes and were a "key step" in continuing inquiries. Both men have been let go on bail.

Size of the Situation

The dump in Kidlington, situated between the Cherwell River and the A34, is believed to contain around 21,000 metric tons of rubbish in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) tall.

This pile of rubbish is made up of what looks to be sorted household rubbish, chopped up plastic items, polystyrene, tyres and other household articles.

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

The total amount of such major dumps is likely to be larger, as the environment agency has in the past acknowledged it does not maintain information on weight for all unauthorized tip.

Most these sites are in agricultural areas, often concealed, and on land that is intended to be agricultural land.

Criminal Operations

Police report many are run by organized crime groups, who are making profit by charging much less than lawful companies to receive and dispose of rubbish.

Firms have to pay disposal fees to use lawful landfill sites, based on the quantity and category of refuse they are trying to discard, and a disposal levy is also levied at just over £126 per tonne.

Local Outrage

Preparatory work to clean up the affected site started in recent weeks following fears over the threat of combustion and the consequences that would have on the close-by highway.

A private waste removal company has been awarded the task to handle the site over the next 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An investigations officer for the national regulatory unit stated that the authority would be aiming to recoup the remediation expenses under confiscation acts from any individual ultimately prosecuted at the conclusion of its current case.

She noted that the recent arrests would help "move the investigation forward" and permit officials to "follow more avenues to understand in detail what transpired and who was implicated".

"The unauthorized site at Kidlington was an shocking and intentional assault on our environment and the authorities understand the local anger at this horrific act," she stated.

A senior official supported the arrests, stating: "This illegal dumping of rubbish at this location is utterly appalling and has led to significant detriment to the natural world and distress to the nearby population.

"The authorities is pledged to eradicating this type of crime in the nation, by increasing funds to tackle illegal dumping, recruiting more personnel and enacting tougher measures and fines for those who break the law."

The detentions were carried out on Thursday by personnel from a specialist serious crime squad and follow an previous detention of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area in last November. He was let go subject to more inquiries.