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A pair of individuals have been taken into custody as part of an inquiry into the dumping of many thousands of tons of rubbish in a rural field in Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement indicated that a 69-year-old was arrested at a property in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in the town of Slough in connection with the enormous heap of rubbish dumped near the area of Kidlington.

These apprehensions follow a previous report which uncovered the presence of in excess of 500 unlawful tips in England, featuring at least 11 so-called "large-scale sites" greater than 20,000 tons.

A official for the environmental authorities stated that the arrests were for environment-related and money laundering violations and constituted a "vital step" in active probes. The two individuals have been let go on pre-trial release.

Size of the Problem

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

This heap of waste is consists of what looks to be sorted domestic waste, fragmented plastics, expanded polystyrene, tires and various household items.

It is just one of 517 unlawful dumps across the country, at minimum 11 of which contain in excess of 20,000 metric tons of waste. Such sites encompass a 280,000-tonne site in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire county and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The total figure of such major sites is expected to be larger, as the environment authority has earlier stated it does not hold data on volume for all unauthorized dump.

The majority sites are in rural areas, often hidden, and on land that should be farm land.

Organised Enterprise

Authorities report many are operated by organised crime gangs, who are earning cash by demanding far less than lawful companies to take and dispose of rubbish.

Companies have to incur disposal fees to use licensed disposal sites, based on the volume and type of refuse they are trying to dispose of, and a disposal levy is also applied at just over £126 per tonne.

Local Outrage

Initial work to remove the Kidlington dump commenced in recent weeks following concerns over the threat of fire and the impact that would have on the close-by highway.

A contracted waste clearance contractor has been awarded the job to handle the area over the next 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An investigations official for the national regulatory unit commented that the authority would be looking to recoup the remediation expenses under confiscation laws from any party ultimately convicted at the termination of its ongoing case.

She further stated that this week's detentions would help "drive the investigation forward" and allow authorities to "investigate more lines of inquiry to ascertain in detail what happened and who was a party to it".

"The unlawful site at this location was an shocking and calculated affront on our ecology and we share the community's frustration at this egregious crime," she stated.

A government representative welcomed the detentions, adding: "The illegal tipping of waste at Kidlington is disgraceful and has caused considerable damage to the ecology and distress to the surrounding population.

"Our authorities is pledged to stamping out this category of criminality throughout the nation, by boosting financing to combat illegal dumping, recruiting more officers and enacting tougher measures and penalties for those who break the law."

The arrests were made on a recent Thursday by officers from a dedicated serious crime squad and are in addition to an previous detention of a 39-year-old from the Surrey area in the autumn. He was set free awaiting more enquiries.