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Two individuals have been detained as part of an probe into the dumping of thousands of tonnes of waste in a open field in Oxfordshire, England.

Authorities reported that a man in his late sixties was arrested at a property in Hampshire's Andover, while a man in his fifties was arrested in Slough in association with the enormous heap of garbage deposited near Kidlington.

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

A representative for the environmental agency said that the apprehensions were for environmental and money laundering crimes and constituted a "key step" in ongoing inquiries. The apprehended men have been released on bail.

Magnitude of the Issue

The tipping ground in Kidlington, positioned between the Cherwell River and the A34 road, is believed to hold about 21,000 tons of waste in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) high.

This mound of rubbish is made up of what appears to be treated residential waste, chopped up plastics, expanded polystyrene, tyres and various domestic articles.

It is just one of 517 unlawful tips across the country, at least 11 of which contain in excess of 20,000 tonnes of waste. They feature a 280,000-tonne area in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The total number of such larger dumps is probably to be larger, as the environmental authority has earlier acknowledged it does not maintain data on weight for each unauthorized site.

The majority sites are in agricultural areas, often concealed, and on land that is zoned as agricultural property.

Organized Enterprise

Authorities report many are run by criminal organizations, who are earning cash by asking for significantly less than lawful operators to take and landfill waste.

Firms have to be liable for disposal fees to use legitimate disposal sites, depending on the volume and type of waste they are trying to get rid of, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per ton.

Public Anger

Preparation work to remove the Kidlington dump commenced in recent weeks following concerns over the potential of combustion and the impact that would have on the close-by highway.

A private waste clearance contractor has been awarded the task to handle the area over the following 12 months period at a cost of £9.6m.

An enforcement official for the national regulatory team said that the agency would be seeking to claim back the remediation costs under proceeds of crime acts from anyone ultimately found guilty at the conclusion of its active inquiry.

She further stated that these arrests would help "drive the investigation forward" and allow authorities to "investigate more leads to understand exactly what transpired and who was involved".

"The unauthorized site at the site was an shocking and deliberate assault on our natural surroundings and we empathize with the local outrage at this terrible act," she stated.

A senior minister supported the detentions, stating: "This unauthorized tipping of garbage at this location is appalling and has resulted in substantial damage to the environment and anguish to the nearby community.

"Our administration is dedicated to eliminating this kind of criminality across the country, by augmenting resources to combat illegal dumping, hiring more personnel and enacting stricter measures and sanctions for those who flout the rules."

The arrests were executed on the specified day by agents from a regional serious crime unit and follow an previous arrest of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area region in November. He was let go pending more enquiries.