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A pair of individuals have been arrested as part of an investigation into the tipping of several thousand of tons of refuse in a rural field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Officials stated that a 69-year-old was arrested at a residence in the town of Andover, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in the town of Slough in connection with the enormous pile of rubbish deposited near the area of Kidlington.

These detentions follow a prior investigation which revealed the presence of in excess of 500 unlawful tips across England, including at least 11 so-called "super sites" bigger than 20,000 metric tons.

A representative for the regulatory body stated that the arrests were for ecological and money laundering offences and constituted a "key step" in ongoing investigations. Both men have been set free on bail.

Size of the Situation

The tipping ground in Kidlington, positioned between the River Cherwell and the A34 road, is believed to house around 21,000 tons of refuse in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) tall.

This heap of waste is composed of what appears to be treated residential refuse, shredded plastic items, Styrofoam, tires and other household objects.

It constitutes just a single of 517 unauthorized tips across the country, at minimum 11 of which are estimated to hold over 20,000 tons of waste. These encompass a 280,000-tonne site in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in the county of Kent.

The total amount of such bigger dumps is probably to be greater, as the regulatory body has previously indicated it does not maintain information on tonnage for each illegal site.

Most sites are in countryside settings, typically hidden, and on land that is zoned as farm property.

Organized Operations

Authorities say many are managed by organised crime gangs, who are making money by asking for much less than lawful companies to take and dispose of waste.

Businesses have to be liable for disposal fees to use legitimate waste facilities, depending on the amount and category of material they are trying to discard, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Community Anger

Preparatory efforts to remove the Kidlington area dump commenced earlier this month due to concerns over the threat of blaze and the effect that would have on the close-by highway.

A commercial clean-up firm has been granted the contract to deal with the location over the coming 12 months period at a expense of £9.6m.

An enforcement officer for the government regulatory unit stated that the agency would be looking to recoup the clean-up costs under asset recovery acts from any individual ultimately prosecuted at the conclusion of its current investigation.

She further stated that these apprehensions would help "push the investigation forward" and allow officials to "follow more lines of inquiry to understand exactly what occurred and who was involved".

"The illegal dump at the site was an shocking and calculated attack on our natural surroundings and we share the public's outrage at this horrific act," she remarked.

A government representative supported the arrests, commenting: "The illegal deposit of garbage at Kidlington is appalling and has caused considerable detriment to the natural world and anguish to the surrounding residents.

"The administration is dedicated to stamping out this category of criminality throughout the UK, by increasing financing to combat waste crime, recruiting more officers and implementing tougher checks and penalties for those who break the rules."

The arrests were executed on the specified day by officers from a specialist crime team and are in addition to an earlier apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area area in November. He was set free awaiting more inquiries.