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A pair of individuals have been arrested as part of an inquiry into the dumping of several thousand of metric tons of rubbish in a rural field in Oxfordshire.

Officials reported that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a residence in Andover, Hampshire, while a man in his fifties was arrested in the town of Slough in connection with the massive pile of waste tipped near Kidlington.

These apprehensions come after a previous revelation which uncovered the existence of more than 500 unauthorized sites in the country of England, including at minimum 11 so-called "major sites" greater than 20,000 tonnes.

A spokeswoman for the regulatory body said that the apprehensions were for environmental and money laundering violations and constituted a "vital step" in active inquiries. The apprehended men have been released on conditional release.

Magnitude of the Issue

The dump in near Kidlington, positioned between the river Cherwell and the A34, is estimated to hold around 21,000 tons of waste in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) high.

This heap of rubbish is made up of what seems to be sorted residential waste, chopped up plastic materials, expanded polystyrene, tires and assorted household articles.

It is just a single of 517 unlawful dumps throughout England, at least 11 of which are estimated to hold more than 20,000 tons of waste. These include a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The overall amount of such larger dumps is expected to be greater, as the environment authority has previously indicated it does not hold records on weight for every unauthorized site.

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

Criminal Operations

Authorities report numerous are operated by criminal organizations, who are generating profit by asking for much less than lawful operators to take and landfill waste.

Firms have to incur gate fees to use lawful waste facilities, based on the quantity and type of refuse they are trying to dispose of, and landfill tax is also levied at just over £126 per ton.

Community Outrage

Preparation efforts to clear the Kidlington area dump commenced in recent weeks following fears over the threat of fire and the impact that would have on the nearby A-road.

A commercial waste clearance contractor has been awarded the contract to remediate the location over the next 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An investigations officer for the national environment division commented that the agency would be seeking to recoup the remediation expenses under asset recovery legislation from any individual ultimately convicted at the end of its active investigation.

She added that this week's apprehensions would help "move the investigation forward" and permit authorities to "follow more avenues to understand in detail what occurred and who was involved".

"This illegal dump at Kidlington was an appalling and calculated affront on our environment and the authorities understand the community's anger at this horrific act," she said.

A senior official praised the actions, stating: "This unauthorized deposit of garbage at the site is utterly appalling and has led to substantial detriment to the ecology and anguish to the local community.

"Our administration is committed to stamping out this category of crime across the UK, by augmenting resources to tackle environmental crime, employing more staff and enacting tougher measures and fines for those who flout the law."

The arrests were carried out on Thursday by personnel from a specialist organised crime squad and follow an earlier arrest of a man in his thirties from the Surrey area in the autumn. He was let go subject to further inquiries.