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Two individuals have been taken into custody as a component of an inquiry into the tipping of many thousands of tons of rubbish in a rural field in Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement indicated that a man in his late sixties was detained at a residence in the town of Andover, while a man in his fifties was taken into custody in the town of Slough in relation with the massive pile of rubbish dumped near the area of Kidlington.

These detentions follow a recent revelation which exposed the presence of over 500 unlawful tips across England, featuring at minimum 11 so-called "major sites" larger than 20,000 tonnes.

A spokeswoman for the regulatory body stated that the arrests were for environment-related and financial crimes and constituted a "vital step" in active investigations. Both men have been let go on pre-trial release.

Size of the Problem

The tipping ground in Kidlington, positioned between the river Cherwell and the A34, is estimated to house approximately 21,000 metric tons of rubbish in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) high.

This mound of waste is composed of what appears to be sorted domestic waste, shredded plastics, expanded polystyrene, tyres and assorted domestic articles.

It represents just a single of 517 unauthorized tips throughout England, at least 11 of which hold in excess of 20,000 tonnes of rubbish. These include a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The actual figure of such bigger locations is expected to be greater, as the environment agency has previously indicated it does not maintain data on tonnage for all unlawful site.

A large proportion of sites are in countryside areas, frequently out of sight, and on land that should be arable property.

Criminal Operations

Police state a significant number are managed by criminal organizations, who are earning profit by charging significantly less than lawful firms to receive and bury rubbish.

Businesses have to incur site fees to use legitimate disposal sites, contingent on the amount and type of material they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also levied at just over £126 per ton.

Local Frustration

Preparation work to clean up the Kidlington dump started in recent weeks due to fears over the potential of blaze and the effect that would have on the adjacent major road.

A contracted waste removal contractor has been given the contract to handle the site over the next 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An investigations officer for the national regulatory unit stated that the agency would be looking to recoup the remediation funds under asset recovery legislation from anyone successfully convicted at the conclusion of its active inquiry.

She added that this week's apprehensions would help "push the probe forward" and allow the agency to "investigate more avenues to ascertain in detail what transpired and who was implicated".

"The unlawful site at Kidlington was an appalling and intentional assault on our natural surroundings and we understand the community's frustration at this horrific offence," she said.

A senior representative supported the detentions, adding: "The unauthorized deposit of garbage at this location is appalling and has caused considerable detriment to the environment and distress to the local residents.

"The government is pledged to eliminating this kind of illegal activity in the UK, by increasing resources to tackle waste crime, employing more personnel and implementing stricter checks and sanctions for those who flout the regulations."

The detentions were made on the specified day by agents from a specialist crime squad and come after an earlier detention of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area region in November. He was released awaiting additional investigations.