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Two individuals have been taken into custody as a component of an inquiry into the tipping of thousands of tonnes of rubbish in a rural field in Oxfordshire.

Law enforcement reported that a man in his late sixties was arrested at a property in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was taken into custody in Slough, Berkshire in relation with the massive mound of rubbish tipped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These detentions occur a week after a previous revelation which uncovered the operation of in excess of 500 unlawful tips in England, featuring at least 11 so-called "super sites" bigger than 20,000 tons.

A official for the regulatory body said that the arrests were for ecological and financial violations and were a "vital step" in active investigations. The two individuals have been set free on bail.

Magnitude of the Issue

The tipping ground in near Kidlington, situated between the river Cherwell and the A34, is estimated to contain about 21,000 metric tons of waste in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) high.

This mound of garbage is consists of what appears to be treated domestic rubbish, fragmented plastics, Styrofoam, automobile tires and assorted domestic articles.

It represents just one of 517 unlawful tips throughout the country, at a minimum of 11 of which contain more than 20,000 metric tons of garbage. Such sites include a 280,000-tonne site in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in the county of Kent.

The actual number of such larger locations is likely to be higher, as the regulatory body has earlier indicated it does not hold information on volume for every illegal dump.

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

Organised Operations

Authorities state numerous are run by criminal organizations, who are making cash by demanding far less than legitimate companies to take and landfill garbage.

Companies have to pay disposal fees to use legitimate disposal sites, depending on the amount and nature of material they are trying to discard, and a waste tax is also charged at just over £126 per ton.

Public Outrage

Preparation efforts to clean up the affected location began earlier this month due to fears over the risk of fire and the consequences that would have on the close-by major road.

A private waste removal company has been awarded the job to remediate the area over the next 12 months at a price of £9.6m.

An investigations officer for the government environmental crime division said that the body would be aiming to recover the remediation costs under proceeds of crime acts from any individual convicted at the conclusion of its active case.

She further stated that the recent apprehensions would help "move the inquiry forward" and allow authorities to "investigate more leads to ascertain exactly what transpired and who was involved".

"This illegal tip at the site was an appalling and deliberate attack on our ecology and officials understand the public's outrage at this terrible offence," she remarked.

A government official supported the arrests, adding: "This illegal tipping of waste at this location is utterly appalling and has caused substantial damage to the natural world and anguish to the nearby population.

"The administration is committed to eliminating this type of crime throughout the country, by augmenting financing to combat waste crime, recruiting more officers and introducing tougher checks and sanctions for those who violate the rules."

The apprehensions were made on Thursday by officers from a dedicated crime team and are in addition to an prior detention of a 39-year-old from the Surrey region in November. He was set free subject to additional enquiries.