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Two men have been arrested as part of an probe into the illegal deposit of many thousands of tonnes of waste in a field in Oxfordshire.

Officials reported that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a dwelling in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was detained in the town of Slough in relation with the enormous mound of rubbish tipped near the area of Kidlington.

These detentions come after a previous revelation which exposed the existence of over 500 unauthorized sites throughout England, including at minimum 11 so-called "super sites" bigger than 20,000 metric tons.

A spokeswoman for the environment body said that the apprehensions were for ecological and money laundering offences and represented a "key step" in ongoing probes. The apprehended men have been set free on bail.

Magnitude of the Issue

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

This pile of rubbish is composed of what seems to be sorted household rubbish, shredded plastic materials, polystyrene, tires and other household items.

It is just one example of 517 unauthorized dumps across the country, at least 11 of which contain in excess of 20,000 metric tons of garbage. They feature a 280,000-tonne site in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne areas in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The actual amount of such bigger dumps is likely to be higher, as the environmental authority has previously stated it does not possess data on weight for each unlawful tip.

A large proportion of these sites are in countryside locations, typically concealed, and on land that is intended to be agricultural ground.

Organized Operations

Police say many are run by organized crime groups, who are generating profit by charging significantly less than legitimate firms to take and dispose of garbage.

Firms have to incur disposal fees to use legitimate landfill sites, based on the amount and nature of material they are trying to get rid of, and landfill tax is also charged at just over £126 per ton.

Community Outrage

Initial efforts to clean up the Kidlington area dump started recently amid concerns over the threat of blaze and the consequences that would have on the close-by highway.

A contracted waste removal company has been given the job to handle the area over the following 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An compliance official for the country's environment division said that the body would be looking to recover the clearance costs under confiscation legislation from any party ultimately convicted at the termination of its ongoing investigation.

She further stated that these detentions would help "drive the inquiry forward" and permit the agency to "investigate more leads to determine precisely what transpired and who was involved".

"The illegal dump at Kidlington was an shocking and intentional assault on our natural surroundings and officials share the public's anger at this horrific act," she said.

A government official supported the detentions, stating: "The unlawful dumping of waste at this location is appalling and has caused considerable damage to the natural world and distress to the local residents.

"Our authorities is pledged to stamping out this type of crime across the nation, by boosting financing to combat environmental crime, employing more staff and introducing more severe checks and sanctions for those who flout the rules."

The arrests were carried out on the specified day by personnel from a regional serious crime squad and come after an prior detention of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area area in last November. He was let go pending additional investigations.