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Two men have been taken into custody as an element of an investigation into the dumping of several thousand of metric tons of rubbish in a field in Oxfordshire, England.

Authorities reported that a man in his late sixties was arrested at a residence in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was detained in the town of Slough in connection with the enormous mound of waste deposited near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These apprehensions come after a recent investigation which exposed the existence of in excess of 500 illegal dumps across England, featuring at least 11 so-called "large-scale sites" larger than 20,000 metric tons.

A official for the regulatory body commented that the arrests were for environment-related and money laundering crimes and represented a "vital step" in continuing investigations. The two individuals have been set free on conditional release.

Scale of the Problem

The tipping ground in the Kidlington area, positioned between the river Cherwell and the A34 highway, is believed to hold about 21,000 metric tons of waste in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) tall.

This heap of waste is made up of what looks to be processed domestic waste, chopped up plastics, polystyrene, tyres and various domestic items.

It constitutes just one example of 517 illegal sites in the country, at least 11 of which contain in excess of 20,000 tons of waste. They include a 280,000-tonne site in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The total figure of such larger sites is expected to be greater, as the environmental body has previously acknowledged it does not maintain records on tonnage for every unlawful site.

The majority these sites are in agricultural areas, typically hidden, and on land that is intended to be farm land.

Criminal Operations

Law enforcement state a significant number are operated by organised crime gangs, who are generating cash by demanding significantly less than lawful companies to accept and dispose of rubbish.

Firms have to incur gate fees to use lawful landfill sites, contingent on the quantity and type of waste they are trying to discard, and a disposal levy is also applied at just over £126 per ton.

Community Frustration

Preparation efforts to clear the Kidlington site started earlier this month following worries over the threat of blaze and the effect that would have on the nearby A-road.

A contracted waste removal firm has been granted the task to remediate the location over the following 12 months period at a cost of £9.6m.

An compliance official for the national regulatory division said that the body would be looking to recoup the remediation expenses under confiscation laws from any party ultimately convicted at the end of its current case.

She further stated that this week's detentions would help "move the investigation forward" and enable authorities to "pursue more lines of inquiry to understand exactly what occurred and who was implicated".

"The unauthorized tip at this location was an shocking and deliberate attack on our ecology and we understand the community's frustration at this egregious act," she stated.

A senior representative welcomed the arrests, adding: "This unlawful tipping of garbage at this location is disgraceful and has caused considerable detriment to the environment and distress to the local community.

"The government is dedicated to eliminating this type of criminality throughout the country, by increasing resources to tackle illegal dumping, recruiting more officers and implementing stricter checks and sanctions for those who break the regulations."

The detentions were carried out on a recent Thursday by agents from a regional crime squad and come after an earlier detention of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area region in the autumn. He was released pending more enquiries.