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Two men have been arrested as an element of an inquiry into the dumping of several thousand of metric tons of waste in a field in Oxfordshire.

Officials stated that a 69-year-old was arrested at a residence in Andover, Hampshire, while a man in his fifties was detained in Slough in connection with the enormous pile of rubbish tipped near the area of Kidlington.

These detentions follow a prior investigation which uncovered the existence of in excess of 500 illegal tips in England, encompassing at a minimum of 11 so-called "large-scale sites" bigger than 20,000 tonnes.

A spokeswoman for the environmental authorities stated that the detentions were for environmental and money laundering violations and represented a "crucial step" in active inquiries. The two individuals have been let go on pre-trial release.

Size of the Problem

The dump in Kidlington, positioned between the river Cherwell and the A34, is estimated to contain approximately 21,000 tons of rubbish in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) high.

This mound of garbage is composed of what appears to be sorted residential waste, shredded plastic items, polystyrene, tires and assorted everyday articles.

It constitutes just a single of 517 illegal tips throughout the country, at a minimum of 11 of which hold in excess of 20,000 tonnes of garbage. Such sites encompass a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in the county of Kent.

The actual figure of such major sites is likely to be greater, as the regulatory body has previously stated it does not hold records on volume for every unauthorized site.

A large proportion of these sites are in countryside areas, often hidden, and on land that is zoned as farm land.

Criminal Activity

Law enforcement state a significant number are managed by organized crime groups, who are generating profit by charging much less than lawful companies to take and bury waste.

Companies have to pay disposal fees to use licensed landfill sites, depending on the amount and category of refuse they are trying to get rid of, and a disposal levy is also charged at just over £126 per tonne.

Community Frustration

Preparation operations to clean up the Kidlington area location commenced in recent weeks following concerns over the risk of combustion and the consequences that would have on the adjacent major road.

A commercial waste clearance firm has been given the contract to handle the site over the following 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An compliance officer for the national regulatory division stated that the authority would be seeking to recoup the remediation funds under confiscation legislation from any party convicted at the end of its current inquiry.

She further stated that this week's apprehensions would help "push the inquiry forward" and enable officials to "pursue more leads to determine in detail what happened and who was implicated".

"This illegal dump at this location was an appalling and calculated attack on our natural surroundings and we understand the local anger at this terrible act," she stated.

A government representative praised the arrests, commenting: "The unlawful deposit of waste at this location is appalling and has caused considerable detriment to the natural world and upset to the surrounding population.

"Our administration is committed to eradicating this type of illegal activity across the nation, by augmenting funds to combat waste crime, employing more officers and introducing tougher controls and penalties for those who violate the law."

The arrests were carried out on the specified day by agents from a regional serious crime squad and follow an prior detention of a 39-year-old from the Surrey area in the autumn. He was let go awaiting further inquiries.