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Two men have been arrested as an element of an probe into the illegal deposit of thousands of tonnes of rubbish in a rural field in Oxfordshire, England.

Officials indicated that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a residence in the town of Andover, while a man in his fifties was detained in the town of Slough in connection with the huge heap of garbage deposited near Kidlington.

These apprehensions occur a week after a recent report which revealed the existence of in excess of 500 illegal tips throughout England, encompassing at minimum 11 so-called "super sites" bigger than 20,000 tons.

A official for the environment body said that the detentions were for ecological and money laundering violations and represented a "vital step" in active inquiries. The apprehended men have been let go on bail.

Size of the Issue

The illegal site in the Kidlington area, located between the River Cherwell and the A34 road, is estimated to house around 21,000 metric tons of waste in a pile which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) high.

This heap of rubbish is made up of what seems to be processed residential rubbish, fragmented plastic items, polystyrene, tires and assorted domestic items.

It is just one of 517 unauthorized sites throughout the country, at minimum 11 of which hold over 20,000 tons of rubbish. They encompass a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne site in Kent.

The overall amount of such bigger sites is likely to be greater, as the regulatory agency has earlier acknowledged it does not maintain information on volume for all unlawful dump.

Most such locations are in agricultural settings, typically concealed, and on land that is zoned as agricultural property.

Organized Enterprise

Police say many are run by organized crime groups, who are making cash by demanding much less than lawful operators to receive and dispose of waste.

Firms have to incur disposal fees to use licensed landfill sites, depending on the amount and category of material they are trying to get rid of, and a disposal levy is also applied at just over £126 per tonne.

Community Frustration

Initial efforts to remove the Kidlington area location started earlier this month due to concerns over the risk of blaze and the consequences that would have on the nearby major road.

A commercial waste removal contractor has been granted the contract to deal with the area over the coming 12 months period at a expense of £9.6m.

An enforcement officer for the country's environmental crime team stated that the agency would be looking to claim back the clearance costs under asset recovery laws from anyone prosecuted at the end of its ongoing case.

She noted that this week's apprehensions would help "drive the investigation forward" and enable officials to "pursue more leads to determine exactly what occurred and who was involved".

"This unauthorized dump at Kidlington was an appalling and deliberate attack on our environment and we empathize with the public's outrage at this egregious crime," she said.

A senior official praised the arrests, adding: "This unlawful deposit of rubbish at this location is utterly appalling and has led to substantial detriment to the ecology and upset to the surrounding residents.

"The administration is dedicated to eliminating this type of illegal activity across the country, by increasing resources to combat environmental crime, employing more staff and implementing more severe checks and fines for those who violate the rules."

The arrests were carried out on Thursday by officers from a regional serious crime squad and come after an earlier apprehension of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area in last November. He was set free pending additional inquiries.