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A pair of individuals have been detained as part of an inquiry into the tipping of several thousand of tonnes of refuse in a open field in Oxfordshire, England.

Law enforcement stated that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a dwelling in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in Slough, Berkshire in relation with the huge heap of waste tipped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These arrests follow a recent revelation which revealed the operation of in excess of 500 unlawful dumps in England, encompassing at least 11 so-called "super sites" bigger than 20,000 metric tons.

A spokeswoman for the regulatory body said that the arrests were for ecological and money laundering offences and were a "crucial step" in active probes. The two individuals have been let go on pre-trial release.

Magnitude of the Issue

The tipping ground in the Kidlington area, located between the river Cherwell and the A34 highway, is believed to contain about 21,000 tonnes of rubbish in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) tall.

This pile of waste is composed of what seems to be processed domestic rubbish, shredded plastics, expanded polystyrene, automobile tires and assorted household articles.

It is just a single of 517 illegal tips throughout the country, at a minimum of 11 of which are estimated to hold over 20,000 metric tons of rubbish. Such sites feature a 280,000-tonne area in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The total number of such bigger dumps is probably to be greater, as the environment agency has in the past acknowledged it does not possess information on tonnage for every illegal site.

A large proportion of these sites are in rural locations, often hidden, and on land that is intended to be farm ground.

Organised Activity

Law enforcement report many are operated by criminal organizations, who are generating money by charging far less than lawful companies to receive and bury rubbish.

Firms have to incur disposal fees to use lawful waste facilities, based on the amount and nature of waste they are trying to dispose of, and a disposal levy is also charged at just over £126 per tonne.

Public Anger

Preparatory operations to clean up the affected dump started earlier this month due to concerns over the threat of fire and the effect that would have on the nearby major road.

A contracted waste clearance contractor has been granted the job to deal with the area over the next 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An enforcement officer for the country's environment division commented that the agency would be seeking to recoup the remediation funds under confiscation legislation from any individual successfully convicted at the conclusion of its current case.

She noted that these detentions would help "push the investigation forward" and permit authorities to "follow more avenues to ascertain exactly what happened and who was a party to it".

"The unlawful dump at Kidlington was an shocking and deliberate attack on our environment and the authorities share the local anger at this egregious crime," she stated.

A government official welcomed the arrests, adding: "This unlawful deposit of garbage at this location is disgraceful and has led to substantial harm to the natural world and distress to the nearby population.

"Our government is pledged to eradicating this type of criminality throughout the country, by boosting financing to combat illegal dumping, hiring more personnel and introducing more severe checks and fines for those who break the rules."

The detentions were executed on the specified day by personnel from a specialist serious crime squad and are in addition to an prior detention of a 39-year-old from the Surrey area in last November. He was set free pending further investigations.