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Two individuals have been taken into custody as a component of an inquiry into the dumping of several thousand of tonnes of waste in a rural field in Oxfordshire, England.

Law enforcement reported that a 69-year-old was detained at a property in the town of Andover, while a man in his fifties was taken into custody in Slough in connection with the enormous pile of waste tipped near Kidlington.

These arrests come after a previous report which uncovered the presence of in excess of 500 unauthorized dumps across England, encompassing at minimum 11 so-called "super sites" larger than 20,000 tons.

A representative for the regulatory authorities stated that the apprehensions were for ecological and money laundering violations and constituted a "vital step" in active inquiries. The apprehended men have been set free on conditional release.

Size of the Problem

The tipping ground in Kidlington, positioned between the river Cherwell and the A34 highway, is thought to contain approximately 21,000 metric tons of waste in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) tall.

This mound of garbage is consists of what appears to be treated residential rubbish, shredded plastic items, expanded polystyrene, tyres and assorted everyday objects.

It constitutes just a single of 517 unlawful tips across England, at minimum 11 of which are estimated to hold more than 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 county and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The overall amount of such larger dumps is probably to be higher, as the regulatory authority has in the past indicated it does not hold records on volume for every unlawful dump.

The majority such locations are in countryside areas, often concealed, and on land that is zoned as agricultural land.

Criminal Enterprise

Authorities state numerous are run by criminal organizations, who are making money by demanding far less than lawful firms to take and dispose of waste.

Firms have to pay disposal fees to use legitimate disposal sites, contingent on the quantity and type of refuse they are trying to discard, and a waste tax is also applied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Local Anger

Initial work to clean up the affected location began earlier this month amid concerns over the risk of blaze and the consequences that would have on the close-by major road.

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

An investigations manager for the national regulatory division commented that the agency would be seeking to recoup the remediation costs under proceeds of crime laws from anyone convicted at the termination of its active investigation.

She added that these apprehensions would help "push the inquiry forward" and enable officials to "pursue more leads to determine exactly what happened and who was involved".

"This unlawful tip at this location was an shocking and intentional attack on our natural surroundings and we empathize with the community's frustration at this terrible act," she stated.

A senior minister praised the actions, stating: "The unauthorized tipping of rubbish at the site is disgraceful and has resulted in considerable damage to the natural world and distress to the nearby population.

"Our authorities is dedicated to stamping out this type of illegal activity throughout the UK, by boosting funds to combat illegal dumping, recruiting more staff and enacting stricter controls and sanctions for those who flout the law."

The apprehensions were made on a recent Thursday by personnel from a regional serious crime team and are in addition to an earlier apprehension of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area in November. He was set free pending additional investigations.