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

Law enforcement stated that a man in his late sixties was arrested at a residence in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was detained in Slough, Berkshire in association with the huge mound of rubbish tipped near the area of Kidlington.

These detentions follow a previous investigation which uncovered the presence of more than 500 unlawful sites throughout England, including at a minimum of 11 so-called "super sites" larger than 20,000 tons.

A spokeswoman for the regulatory body stated that the arrests were for environmental and money laundering offences and constituted a "crucial step" in ongoing inquiries. The apprehended men have been set free on bail.

Scale of the Issue

The tipping ground in the Kidlington area, located between the River Cherwell and the A34 highway, is thought to contain about 21,000 tons of waste in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) high.

This pile of garbage is composed of what looks to be treated household refuse, chopped up plastics, polystyrene, automobile tires and assorted domestic items.

It is just one example of 517 unlawful tips in England, at minimum 11 of which hold in excess of 20,000 tonnes of garbage. They encompass a 280,000-tonne site in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in the county of Kent.

The actual amount of such larger locations is probably to be higher, as the regulatory body has earlier indicated it does not maintain information on volume for every unauthorized site.

A large proportion of these sites are in rural settings, typically out of sight, and on land that is zoned as farm property.

Organised Operations

Police say a significant number are managed by organized crime groups, who are generating money by asking for much less than licensed firms to take and landfill waste.

Businesses have to pay gate fees to use licensed waste facilities, contingent on the amount and nature of material they are trying to get rid of, and a disposal levy is also levied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Local Outrage

Preparatory operations to clear the Kidlington location commenced in recent weeks due to fears over the risk of fire and the effect that would have on the nearby highway.

A commercial waste clearance firm has been awarded the task to deal with the site over the following 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An investigations officer for the country's regulatory unit said that the agency would be looking to recover the clearance costs under proceeds of crime laws from any individual convicted at the termination of its ongoing inquiry.

She further stated that the recent arrests would help "push the probe forward" and allow authorities to "pursue more leads to ascertain exactly what occurred and who was implicated".

"This unauthorized tip at this location was an shocking and calculated assault on our natural surroundings and the authorities understand the public's frustration at this egregious offence," she said.

A government official praised the actions, commenting: "This illegal tipping of waste at Kidlington is appalling and has led to substantial detriment to the ecology and anguish to the surrounding residents.

"Our government is dedicated to eliminating this kind of crime in the nation, by augmenting resources to tackle illegal dumping, hiring more personnel and implementing more severe checks and fines for those who flout the rules."

The apprehensions were made on a recent Thursday by officers from a specialist organised crime squad and are in addition to an earlier detention of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area in the autumn. He was released awaiting further investigations.