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Two men have been taken into custody as part of an probe into the tipping of thousands of tons of waste in a rural field in Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement reported that a man in his late sixties was detained at a property in the town of Andover, while a man in his fifties was detained in Slough in relation with the huge heap of rubbish tipped near the area of Kidlington.

These detentions occur a week after a previous revelation which exposed the existence of more than 500 illegal dumps across England, encompassing at least 11 so-called "major sites" larger than 20,000 metric tons.

A representative for the environmental agency said that the arrests were for environment-related and financial offences and constituted a "crucial step" in continuing inquiries. The two individuals have been let go on conditional release.

Scale of the Issue

The dump in the Kidlington area, situated between the river Cherwell and the A34, is estimated to hold about 21,000 tons of rubbish in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) high.

This pile of waste is made up of what seems to be treated residential waste, fragmented plastics, polystyrene, tyres and assorted household items.

It constitutes just a single of 517 illegal sites in England, at a minimum of 11 of which hold in excess of 20,000 metric tons of garbage. They encompass a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire county and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The overall figure of such major locations is likely to be greater, as the environmental body has in the past acknowledged it does not maintain information on tonnage for all unlawful site.

The majority these sites are in agricultural locations, typically concealed, and on land that is intended to be agricultural property.

Criminal Enterprise

Law enforcement report many are operated by organized crime groups, who are earning profit by asking for much less than lawful firms to accept and dispose of rubbish.

Companies have to pay site fees to use lawful disposal sites, based on the amount and nature of waste they are trying to dispose of, and landfill tax is also charged at just over £126 per ton.

Local Outrage

Preparatory work to remove the affected location began earlier this month due to worries over the potential of blaze and the impact that would have on the adjacent A-road.

A commercial waste clearance firm has been granted the job to remediate the location over the following 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An compliance officer for the government environment team said that the body would be looking to recover the remediation funds under proceeds of crime acts from any party successfully prosecuted at the termination of its current investigation.

She further stated that these apprehensions would help "push the inquiry forward" and allow officials to "investigate more avenues to understand precisely what transpired and who was involved".

"This unlawful tip at the site was an appalling and calculated attack on our ecology and officials share the public's anger at this horrific act," she said.

A senior minister praised the detentions, stating: "The unlawful dumping of garbage at this location is appalling and has led to significant damage to the ecology and anguish to the nearby population.

"Our authorities is pledged to eliminating this type of illegal activity throughout the nation, by boosting financing to tackle illegal dumping, employing more officers and introducing tougher checks and sanctions for those who violate the rules."

The arrests were made on a recent Thursday by agents from a regional serious crime unit and come after an previous detention of a 39-year-old from the Guildford region in November. He was released awaiting further inquiries.