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

Authorities reported that a 69-year-old was arrested at a residence in Andover, Hampshire, while a 54-year-old was arrested in the town of Slough in association with the enormous heap of rubbish dumped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These arrests occur a week after a recent investigation which uncovered the presence of more than 500 unauthorized tips across England, including at minimum 11 so-called "super sites" bigger than 20,000 tonnes.

A spokeswoman for the regulatory agency commented that the apprehensions were for environment-related and proceeds of crime crimes and represented a "crucial step" in ongoing probes. The two individuals have been let go on bail.

Size of the Issue

The tipping ground in near Kidlington, located between the River Cherwell and the A34 highway, is thought to house approximately 21,000 tonnes of rubbish in a mound which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) in height.

This pile of waste is consists of what appears to be treated domestic waste, fragmented plastic materials, expanded polystyrene, tyres and other domestic items.

It represents just one example of 517 unlawful dumps throughout the country, at minimum 11 of which hold over 20,000 metric tons of garbage. They feature a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in the county of Kent.

The overall figure of such major dumps is probably to be greater, as the environment authority has earlier stated it does not maintain information on volume for every unlawful tip.

Most these sites are in countryside settings, frequently hidden, and on land that is zoned as arable property.

Criminal Enterprise

Authorities report many are run by organized crime groups, who are generating money by asking for significantly less than licensed operators to take and dispose of waste.

Firms have to incur disposal fees to use legitimate waste facilities, contingent on the volume and type of refuse they are trying to get rid of, and a waste tax is also levied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Community Outrage

Preparatory work to remove the affected site started recently following fears over the threat of fire and the consequences that would have on the close-by A-road.

A commercial waste removal contractor has been granted the contract to handle the site over the coming 12 months at a cost of £9.6m.

An compliance officer for the country's environment team said that the authority would be seeking to claim back the clearance expenses under asset recovery acts from any individual successfully found guilty at the end of its ongoing inquiry.

She noted that this week's arrests would help "push the probe forward" and allow officials to "investigate more avenues to understand exactly what occurred and who was a party to it".

"This unauthorized tip at the site was an appalling and calculated assault on our ecology and the authorities understand the public's outrage at this horrific act," she stated.

A cabinet official supported the actions, adding: "This illegal tipping of waste at the site is disgraceful and has resulted in considerable detriment to the natural world and anguish to the surrounding population.

"The government is committed to eliminating this category of criminality across the nation, by boosting funds to address waste crime, hiring more staff and implementing more severe measures and penalties for those who violate the law."

The arrests were executed on Thursday by officers from a dedicated crime team and are in addition to an prior detention of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area area in November. He was let go pending more investigations.