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A pair of individuals have been taken into custody as a component of an probe into the tipping of thousands of tonnes of rubbish in a open field in Oxfordshire, England.

Law enforcement stated that a 69-year-old was detained at a dwelling in Andover, Hampshire, while a man in his fifties was taken into custody in Slough, Berkshire in connection with the massive pile of waste dumped near Kidlington.

These apprehensions come after a previous report which uncovered the existence of over 500 unauthorized tips in the country of England, encompassing at a minimum of 11 so-called "super sites" bigger than 20,000 metric tons.

A official for the regulatory body commented that the arrests were for environment-related and money laundering offences and were a "crucial step" in active investigations. Both men have been released on conditional release.

Scale of the Situation

The dump in the Kidlington area, positioned between the River Cherwell and the A34 road, is estimated to hold approximately 21,000 tonnes of rubbish in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) in height.

This heap of rubbish is composed of what appears to be sorted household rubbish, fragmented plastic items, polystyrene, tyres and assorted domestic items.

It constitutes just one of 517 unlawful dumps across England, at minimum 11 of which hold over 20,000 tonnes of rubbish. Such sites feature a 280,000-tonne area in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The actual figure of such bigger sites is expected to be higher, as the environment body has previously indicated it does not possess information on tonnage for every illegal dump.

The majority such locations are in agricultural settings, typically concealed, and on land that should be farm ground.

Organized Activity

Authorities state a significant number are managed by criminal organizations, who are earning profit by demanding much less than lawful firms to take and dispose of garbage.

Companies have to be liable for site fees to use lawful waste facilities, contingent on the quantity and category of waste they are trying to get rid of, and landfill tax is also charged at just over £126 per ton.

Local Outrage

Preparation efforts to clean up the affected dump commenced recently following fears over the threat of fire and the impact that would have on the adjacent A-road.

A commercial waste removal contractor has been awarded the job to remediate the location over the coming 12 months period at a cost of £9.6m.

An enforcement officer for the government regulatory unit stated that the agency would be seeking to claim back the remediation costs under confiscation legislation from any party successfully found guilty at the termination of its current case.

She further stated that the recent arrests would help "drive the inquiry forward" and enable the agency to "follow more leads to determine precisely what occurred and who was involved".

"The unauthorized tip at this location was an appalling and calculated attack on our environment and we empathize with the community's frustration at this egregious offence," she said.

A cabinet representative welcomed the actions, adding: "This unauthorized tipping of rubbish at the site is appalling and has resulted in significant damage to the natural world and anguish to the local population.

"Our authorities is pledged to eliminating this kind of illegal activity throughout the nation, by increasing funds to tackle waste crime, hiring more officers and introducing tougher controls and penalties for those who break the law."

The detentions were carried out on Thursday by officers from a regional organised crime unit and follow an previous apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Surrey region in last November. He was set free awaiting more investigations.