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A pair of individuals have been taken into custody as an element of an probe into the tipping of several thousand of metric tons of rubbish in a open field in Oxfordshire, England.

Officials stated that a man in his late sixties was apprehended at a property in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in Slough, Berkshire in connection with the huge mound of waste deposited near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These detentions follow a recent report which revealed the operation of in excess of 500 unlawful tips throughout the country of England, featuring at least 11 so-called "large-scale sites" bigger than 20,000 metric tons.

A official for the regulatory body commented that the apprehensions were for ecological and money laundering offences and constituted a "crucial step" in active investigations. The apprehended men have been set free on conditional release.

Magnitude of the Situation

The tipping ground in near Kidlington, positioned between the river Cherwell and the A34 highway, is estimated to contain about 21,000 tonnes of waste in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) tall.

This mound of garbage is made up of what appears to be sorted household refuse, fragmented plastic items, Styrofoam, automobile tires and assorted household objects.

It constitutes just one example of 517 illegal tips throughout England, at least 11 of which contain in excess of 20,000 metric tons of rubbish. These feature a 280,000-tonne location in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in the county of Kent.

The total number of such larger sites is expected to be greater, as the environment body has previously indicated it does not maintain records on tonnage for every unlawful tip.

Most sites are in countryside locations, frequently concealed, and on land that is intended to be farm land.

Criminal Operations

Authorities report many are managed by criminal organizations, who are earning profit by demanding far less than lawful operators to receive and landfill waste.

Firms have to incur site fees to use licensed waste facilities, contingent on the quantity and nature of refuse they are trying to get rid of, and landfill tax is also applied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Local Frustration

Preparatory efforts to clear the Kidlington area location began earlier this month amid worries over the risk of fire and the impact that would have on the nearby major road.

A private waste clearance contractor has been given the task to handle the site over the next 12 months period at a cost of £9.6m.

An investigations official for the national environment division stated that the body would be looking to recover the remediation funds under confiscation legislation from any individual prosecuted at the end of its active investigation.

She noted that the recent arrests would help "move the inquiry forward" and permit the agency to "investigate more lines of inquiry to ascertain exactly what happened and who was a party to it".

"This unlawful dump at this location was an atrocious and calculated affront on our ecology and the authorities empathize with the community's anger at this horrific act," she remarked.

A senior representative praised the arrests, stating: "This unauthorized deposit of rubbish at the site is disgraceful and has led to substantial harm to the natural world and upset to the nearby population.

"Our government is pledged to eradicating this type of crime in the country, by boosting financing to tackle illegal dumping, employing more officers and introducing stricter measures and sanctions for those who break the rules."

The apprehensions were carried out on a recent Thursday by officers from a regional crime unit and are in addition to an prior arrest of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area area in last November. He was let go pending further inquiries.