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Two men have been detained as an element of an investigation into the dumping of several thousand of tonnes of refuse in a rural field in Oxfordshire.

Officials indicated that a 69-year-old was apprehended 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 huge mound of waste tipped near Kidlington.

These arrests occur a week after a recent revelation which exposed the existence of more than 500 unauthorized tips in the country of England, including at a minimum of 11 so-called "large-scale sites" larger than 20,000 tonnes.

A official for the regulatory body said that the apprehensions were for environment-related and money laundering offences and were a "crucial step" in continuing inquiries. The apprehended men have been let go on conditional release.

Magnitude of the Issue

The tipping ground in near 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) in length and 6m (20ft) high.

This mound of garbage is consists of what seems to be treated domestic waste, chopped up plastic materials, expanded polystyrene, tires and assorted domestic items.

It constitutes just one example of 517 unlawful tips in England, at least 11 of which hold over 20,000 tonnes of rubbish. These feature a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in the county of Kent.

The actual number of such major dumps is probably to be greater, as the environment authority has previously stated it does not maintain data on volume for every illegal tip.

A large proportion of such locations are in rural settings, often concealed, and on land that is zoned as farm ground.

Organized Enterprise

Law enforcement state numerous are managed by organised crime gangs, who are earning profit by demanding significantly less than legitimate firms to take and bury waste.

Companies have to pay site fees to use licensed disposal sites, based on the volume and category of material they are trying to get rid of, and a waste tax is also charged at just over £126 per metric ton.

Community Anger

Preparatory work to remove the Kidlington area site began earlier this month amid concerns over the risk of combustion and the consequences that would have on the nearby major road.

A private clean-up company has been awarded the task to handle the area over the coming 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An investigations official for the national regulatory unit said that the authority would be seeking to recoup the remediation funds under proceeds of crime acts from any party successfully convicted at the conclusion of its current investigation.

She added that the recent arrests would help "move the inquiry forward" and allow the agency to "follow more leads to understand precisely what happened and who was implicated".

"This unlawful tip at the site was an appalling and intentional affront on our environment and the authorities empathize with the community's anger at this horrific offence," she remarked.

A senior official supported the detentions, stating: "The unauthorized tipping of rubbish at this location is disgraceful and has led to considerable harm to the natural world and distress to the nearby residents.

"The administration is pledged to eradicating this kind of crime throughout the country, by increasing financing to address illegal dumping, hiring more officers and enacting tougher measures and penalties for those who flout the regulations."

The apprehensions were executed on Thursday by officers from a specialist crime squad and come after an previous arrest of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area region in November. He was let go subject to more enquiries.