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Two men have been taken into custody as an element of an probe into the tipping of many thousands of metric tons of rubbish in a rural field in Oxfordshire.

Authorities reported that a man in his late sixties was detained at a residence in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in Slough, Berkshire in association with the massive heap of garbage dumped near the area of Kidlington.

These apprehensions occur a week after a recent report which uncovered the existence of in excess of 500 unlawful tips in England, encompassing at a minimum of 11 so-called "super sites" larger than 20,000 tonnes.

A representative for the environment agency stated that the detentions were for ecological and money laundering crimes and represented a "key step" in continuing investigations. The two individuals have been released on pre-trial release.

Magnitude of the Situation

The tipping ground in the Kidlington area, located between the river Cherwell and the A34, is estimated to hold around 21,000 metric tons of refuse in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) tall.

This mound of waste is consists of what appears to be treated household rubbish, fragmented plastics, polystyrene, tires and other domestic objects.

It represents just a single of 517 unlawful dumps in England, at minimum 11 of which are estimated to hold over 20,000 tonnes of garbage. Such sites include a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The actual figure of such larger locations is probably to be higher, as the environmental agency has earlier indicated it does not maintain data on weight for every unlawful tip.

A large proportion of sites are in countryside locations, often concealed, and on land that should be agricultural property.

Organised Activity

Law enforcement report a significant number are run by organized crime groups, who are generating profit by asking for much less than licensed operators to receive and landfill rubbish.

Companies have to be liable for site fees to use legitimate waste facilities, based on the volume and nature of refuse they are trying to get rid of, and landfill tax is also levied at just over £126 per tonne.

Community Outrage

Preparatory efforts to remove the Kidlington area dump began recently amid fears over the risk of fire and the consequences that would have on the adjacent major road.

A contracted clean-up contractor has been granted the task to remediate the area over the coming 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An compliance manager for the country's environment team said that the authority would be aiming to recover the remediation expenses under proceeds of crime legislation from anyone ultimately found guilty at the termination of its current investigation.

She noted that the recent detentions would help "push the investigation forward" and permit the agency to "pursue more lines of inquiry to determine in detail what happened and who was a party to it".

"The illegal site at the site was an appalling and calculated attack on our natural surroundings and the authorities understand the public's anger at this egregious act," she stated.

A government minister welcomed the detentions, adding: "This unlawful tipping of rubbish at the site is appalling and has caused significant detriment to the natural world and anguish to the surrounding residents.

"Our authorities is committed to eradicating this kind of illegal activity throughout the UK, by augmenting funds to combat waste crime, hiring more staff and enacting more severe measures and fines for those who break the law."

The detentions were made on the specified day by agents from a specialist crime squad and come after an previous apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Surrey area in last November. He was let go pending more investigations.