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Two men have been taken into custody as an element of an inquiry into the dumping of many thousands of tonnes of waste in a rural field in Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement reported that a 69-year-old was arrested at a dwelling in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was arrested in Slough in association with the huge heap of garbage dumped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These arrests follow a recent investigation which uncovered the operation of over 500 unauthorized tips across England, including at least 11 so-called "super sites" larger than 20,000 tonnes.

A official for the environmental agency said that the apprehensions were for ecological and financial violations and represented a "key step" in ongoing inquiries. Both men have been set free on pre-trial release.

Scale of the Problem

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

This pile of waste is made up of what seems to be processed domestic rubbish, shredded plastic items, Styrofoam, tires and various household objects.

It is just a single of 517 unlawful tips across the country, at a minimum of 11 of which hold more than 20,000 tonnes of garbage. These include a 280,000-tonne site in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The overall number of such larger sites is expected to be greater, as the environment body has earlier acknowledged it does not possess records on weight for every unauthorized site.

A large proportion of these sites are in countryside areas, typically concealed, and on land that is zoned as arable property.

Criminal Activity

Police state many are run by organised crime gangs, who are earning profit by asking for significantly less than lawful operators to receive and dispose of rubbish.

Companies have to incur gate fees to use legitimate disposal sites, based on the amount and category of waste they are trying to dispose of, and a disposal levy is also charged at just over £126 per ton.

Community Anger

Preparation operations to remove the affected dump commenced in recent weeks amid concerns over the threat of combustion and the effect that would have on the adjacent A-road.

A private clean-up contractor has been given the task to remediate the site over the next 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An investigations officer for the government environment division stated that the agency would be looking to recoup the remediation expenses under proceeds of crime acts from any party found guilty at the end of its current investigation.

She further stated that the recent detentions would help "move the investigation forward" and allow the agency to "pursue more lines of inquiry to understand precisely what happened and who was a party to it".

"This unlawful tip at this location was an shocking and deliberate affront on our ecology and officials empathize with the local anger at this horrific crime," she said.

A cabinet minister supported the detentions, stating: "The illegal tipping of garbage at the site is appalling and has led to significant harm to the environment and upset to the local population.

"The administration is dedicated to eliminating this category of criminality throughout the UK, by increasing funds to combat illegal dumping, hiring more officers and implementing more severe measures and sanctions for those who violate the regulations."

The arrests were executed on Thursday by personnel from a specialist serious crime squad and follow an previous arrest of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area in last November. He was set free subject to more investigations.