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A pair of individuals have been arrested as a component of an inquiry into the tipping of many thousands of tonnes of rubbish in a open field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Officials indicated that a 69-year-old was arrested at a dwelling in the town of Andover, while a man in his fifties was taken into custody in Slough, Berkshire in connection with the massive mound of rubbish tipped near Kidlington.

These detentions follow a previous revelation which uncovered the operation of in excess of 500 illegal dumps across England, including at minimum 11 so-called "major sites" bigger than 20,000 tons.

A representative for the regulatory authorities stated that the arrests were for environment-related and money laundering violations and were a "crucial step" in active probes. The two individuals have been set free on bail.

Scale of the Issue

The dump in near Kidlington, positioned between the River Cherwell and the A34 highway, is thought to hold approximately 21,000 metric tons of waste in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) tall.

This heap of rubbish is made up of what seems to be sorted household rubbish, shredded plastics, expanded polystyrene, automobile tires and various everyday items.

It is just one example of 517 illegal dumps throughout England, at least 11 of which contain over 20,000 tonnes of rubbish. Such sites encompass a 280,000-tonne area in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The overall amount of such major locations is probably to be greater, as the environmental agency has previously stated it does not possess records on tonnage for all illegal site.

Most such locations are in rural settings, typically out of sight, and on land that is zoned as farm property.

Organised Enterprise

Authorities report many are run by criminal organizations, who are earning cash by charging significantly less than licensed firms to receive and bury waste.

Firms have to incur site fees to use licensed disposal sites, contingent on the quantity and type of waste they are trying to dispose of, and landfill tax is also applied at just over £126 per tonne.

Local Outrage

Initial operations to clear the Kidlington area location started earlier this month due to worries over the threat of blaze and the effect that would have on the adjacent major road.

A contracted waste clearance firm has been awarded the job to handle the site over the coming 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An enforcement officer for the country's environmental crime unit stated that the agency would be looking to claim back the clean-up expenses under asset recovery laws from any individual convicted at the conclusion of its active case.

She noted that the recent arrests would help "drive the investigation forward" and allow the agency to "investigate more lines of inquiry to ascertain precisely what occurred and who was implicated".

"This illegal site at Kidlington was an shocking and intentional assault on our natural surroundings and officials understand the community's frustration at this terrible crime," she stated.

A government minister welcomed the arrests, adding: "This illegal deposit of garbage at the site is utterly appalling and has led to substantial detriment to the environment and anguish to the surrounding community.

"The authorities is pledged to stamping out this kind of crime across the nation, by boosting funds to tackle environmental crime, recruiting more personnel and enacting tougher controls and sanctions for those who violate the rules."

The arrests were carried out on Thursday by personnel from a regional serious crime squad and come after an previous arrest of a 39-year-old from the Surrey region in the autumn. He was set free subject to more investigations.