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A pair of individuals have been taken into custody as part of an inquiry into the illegal deposit of thousands of tonnes of refuse in a field in the county of Oxfordshire.

Authorities reported that a 69-year-old was detained at a residence in Hampshire's Andover, while a 54-year-old was arrested in Slough, Berkshire in connection with the huge heap of garbage tipped near Kidlington.

These apprehensions occur a week after a previous revelation which revealed the existence of in excess of 500 unlawful dumps throughout the country of England, including at a minimum of 11 so-called "super sites" greater than 20,000 metric tons.

A spokeswoman for the environmental authorities stated that the arrests were for environmental and money laundering offences and were a "vital step" in continuing probes. The two individuals have been let go on bail.

Magnitude of the Situation

The tipping ground in near Kidlington, situated between the River Cherwell and the A34 road, is believed to contain around 21,000 metric tons of waste in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) high.

This heap of garbage is made up of what seems to be processed domestic waste, fragmented plastics, expanded polystyrene, automobile tires and assorted everyday items.

It represents just a single of 517 unauthorized sites across the country, at least 11 of which contain more than 20,000 tons of rubbish. Such sites encompass a 280,000-tonne area in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire county and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne tip in Kent.

The overall number of such larger sites is expected to be higher, as the environmental body has previously indicated it does not maintain data on volume for each illegal site.

A large proportion of sites are in rural locations, frequently out of sight, and on land that is intended to be arable property.

Organized Operations

Authorities say many are managed by organised crime gangs, who are earning money by demanding far less than licensed firms to accept and bury garbage.

Businesses have to incur site fees to use licensed landfill sites, contingent on the quantity and type of refuse they are trying to discard, and a waste tax is also charged at just over £126 per metric ton.

Community Outrage

Preparatory efforts to clean up the affected dump began recently due to worries over the threat of fire and the effect that would have on the adjacent major road.

A contracted waste removal contractor has been given the job to remediate the area over the next 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An compliance officer for the country's environmental crime unit stated that the agency would be looking to recoup the clean-up funds under asset recovery laws from anyone ultimately prosecuted at the end of its current case.

She noted that these arrests would help "drive the probe forward" and permit the agency to "follow more lines of inquiry to understand in detail what happened and who was a party to it".

"The unlawful site at Kidlington was an appalling and intentional assault on our ecology and officials empathize with the public's anger at this horrific crime," she said.

A senior representative welcomed the detentions, adding: "This unlawful deposit of waste at Kidlington is disgraceful and has caused considerable detriment to the natural world and distress to the local community.

"The government is committed to stamping out this kind of illegal activity across the UK, by augmenting resources to address illegal dumping, employing more staff and enacting tougher checks and fines for those who violate the law."

The apprehensions were executed on Thursday by officers from a specialist organised crime team and follow an previous arrest of a man in his thirties from the Guildford region in the autumn. He was let go pending further enquiries.