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Two men have been detained as part of an probe into the dumping of thousands of metric tons of waste in a open field in Oxfordshire.

Authorities indicated that a man in his late sixties was arrested at a residence in Andover, Hampshire, while a man in his fifties was arrested in Slough, Berkshire in relation with the huge heap of garbage deposited near the area of Kidlington.

These arrests occur a week after a previous investigation which uncovered the existence of more than 500 illegal sites in England, featuring at minimum 11 so-called "major sites" larger than 20,000 tonnes.

A official for the environmental agency stated that the arrests were for ecological and money laundering offences and constituted a "vital step" in continuing investigations. Both men have been let go on pre-trial release.

Magnitude of the Situation

The dump in near Kidlington, situated between the River Cherwell and the A34, is thought to contain approximately 21,000 tons of waste in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) in length and 6m (20ft) tall.

This pile of garbage is composed of what seems to be treated household rubbish, fragmented plastics, Styrofoam, automobile tires and other everyday articles.

It represents just a single of 517 unlawful tips across England, at minimum 11 of which are estimated to hold over 20,000 tons of garbage. They encompass a 280,000-tonne area in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The actual amount of such major locations is likely to be larger, as the environmental authority has previously indicated it does not hold data on volume for each illegal tip.

The majority sites are in agricultural areas, typically hidden, and on land that should be farm land.

Criminal Activity

Police say numerous are run by organized crime groups, who are earning money by demanding far less than legitimate companies to take and landfill waste.

Businesses have to pay gate fees to use licensed disposal sites, depending on the quantity and nature of material they are trying to get rid of, and landfill tax is also levied at just over £126 per ton.

Public Anger

Preparatory work to clean up the Kidlington site commenced in recent weeks following worries over the risk of fire and the consequences that would have on the close-by A-road.

A private clean-up contractor has been given the job to deal with the area over the coming 12 months period at a cost of £9.6m.

An investigations official for the national environment division commented that the agency would be seeking to recover the clearance funds under confiscation legislation from anyone convicted at the end of its current inquiry.

She further stated that this week's apprehensions would help "drive the probe forward" and enable officials to "follow more lines of inquiry to understand in detail what occurred and who was implicated".

"The unauthorized site at the site was an atrocious and calculated assault on our ecology and we understand the local outrage at this egregious act," she stated.

A senior representative welcomed the actions, adding: "This illegal deposit of rubbish at this location is appalling and has resulted in considerable damage to the natural world and upset to the local population.

"The administration is pledged to eliminating this type of criminality throughout the country, by increasing financing to combat waste crime, recruiting more officers and enacting tougher controls and sanctions for those who flout the rules."

The apprehensions were carried out on the specified day by officers from a specialist crime unit and are in addition to an previous arrest of a 39-year-old from the Guildford region in last November. He was let go subject to additional enquiries.