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A pair of individuals have been taken into custody as an element of an probe into the tipping of thousands of tons of refuse in a field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Officials reported that a man in his late sixties was apprehended at a property in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was arrested in Slough in association with the massive mound of garbage dumped near Kidlington.

These detentions come after a previous report which exposed the existence of more than 500 unauthorized tips across England, encompassing at least 11 so-called "super sites" greater than 20,000 tonnes.

A representative for the environmental body stated that the apprehensions were for environment-related and money laundering violations and were a "crucial step" in continuing inquiries. The apprehended men have been set free on bail.

Size of the Problem

The tipping ground in the Kidlington area, positioned between the river Cherwell and the A34 road, is thought to house approximately 21,000 metric tons of waste in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) tall.

This mound of waste is composed of what seems to be processed residential rubbish, shredded plastics, polystyrene, tyres and assorted everyday objects.

It represents just one of 517 unauthorized sites in the country, at least 11 of which are estimated to hold over 20,000 tons of rubbish. These encompass a 280,000-tonne area in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The overall amount of such major dumps is likely to be larger, as the regulatory authority has previously indicated it does not possess records on weight for each unauthorized tip.

The majority such locations are in agricultural areas, often concealed, and on land that is zoned as farm land.

Criminal Enterprise

Authorities say a significant number are run by organized crime groups, who are earning profit by demanding far less than licensed firms to accept and bury garbage.

Companies have to incur gate fees to use lawful disposal sites, contingent on the amount and category of refuse they are trying to dispose of, and a disposal levy is also applied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Local Anger

Preparation work to clean up the Kidlington dump began earlier this month amid concerns over the potential of fire and the impact that would have on the adjacent highway.

A commercial waste removal contractor has been given the job to remediate the location over the coming 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An enforcement official for the government environment team said that the authority would be looking to recover the clean-up expenses under confiscation acts from anyone successfully prosecuted at the conclusion of its active case.

She further stated that these arrests would help "move the investigation forward" and allow officials to "pursue more avenues to determine exactly what happened and who was involved".

"The unlawful dump at this location was an atrocious and intentional affront on our environment and we share the local outrage at this terrible offence," she remarked.

A senior representative welcomed the actions, commenting: "The illegal dumping of waste at this location is utterly appalling and has led to substantial detriment to the ecology and anguish to the surrounding community.

"Our authorities is pledged to eradicating this category of illegal activity in the UK, by augmenting financing to address illegal dumping, hiring more officers and enacting more severe controls and fines for those who break the law."

The apprehensions were executed on the specified day by officers from a regional crime unit and come after an previous detention of a 39-year-old from the Surrey area in last November. He was let go awaiting more inquiries.