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A pair of individuals have been arrested as part of an inquiry into the dumping of many thousands of metric tons of rubbish in a rural field in Oxfordshire, England.

Law enforcement indicated that a 69-year-old was arrested at a dwelling in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was detained in the town of Slough in connection with the enormous heap of rubbish dumped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These apprehensions occur a week after a previous investigation which exposed the existence of in excess of 500 unauthorized dumps in England, featuring at minimum 11 so-called "super sites" greater than 20,000 tons.

A official for the environmental authorities stated that the detentions were for environmental and money laundering crimes and represented a "key step" in continuing probes. The apprehended men have been set free on bail.

Scale of the Issue

The dump in near Kidlington, situated between the Cherwell River and the A34, is believed to house about 21,000 metric tons of waste in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) tall.

This mound of rubbish is made up of what seems to be processed residential refuse, fragmented plastic materials, Styrofoam, tires and various domestic articles.

It is just a single of 517 unlawful dumps across England, at a minimum of 11 of which contain more than 20,000 tonnes of waste. They feature a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The total amount of such bigger dumps is probably to be larger, as the environment authority has in the past indicated it does not maintain information on weight for each unauthorized site.

The majority such locations are in rural areas, often concealed, and on land that is intended to be farm land.

Criminal Activity

Police say a significant number are managed by organized crime groups, who are generating cash by charging much less than lawful firms to take and landfill rubbish.

Businesses have to incur site fees to use legitimate landfill sites, based 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 ton.

Community Anger

Initial operations to clear the Kidlington area location commenced earlier this month following concerns over the potential of blaze and the impact that would have on the adjacent highway.

A private waste clearance contractor has been given the contract to deal with the site over the next 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An compliance manager for the government environmental crime unit stated that the authority would be aiming to claim back the clearance expenses under asset recovery legislation from anyone found guilty at the conclusion of its active inquiry.

She noted that this week's apprehensions would help "move the investigation forward" and enable authorities to "investigate more avenues to understand exactly what transpired and who was implicated".

"This unlawful dump at this location was an shocking and deliberate assault on our natural surroundings and officials understand the public's anger at this horrific act," she said.

A government minister supported the arrests, stating: "The unlawful tipping of waste at this location is utterly appalling and has led to significant detriment to the environment and anguish to the local residents.

"Our authorities is pledged to eradicating this category of criminality across the country, by boosting financing to tackle illegal dumping, hiring more staff and implementing stricter checks and sanctions for those who flout the regulations."

The detentions were carried out on the specified day by personnel from a specialist crime unit and are in addition to an previous apprehension of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area in the autumn. He was let go pending additional enquiries.