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Two men have been arrested as part of an probe into the illegal deposit of thousands of metric tons of rubbish in a field in Oxfordshire.

Authorities stated that a 69-year-old was apprehended at a property in the town of Andover, while a man in his fifties was taken into custody in the town of Slough in connection with the massive mound of rubbish tipped near Kidlington, Oxfordshire.

These arrests occur a week after a prior investigation which uncovered the operation of over 500 illegal tips in the country of England, encompassing at minimum 11 so-called "large-scale sites" larger than 20,000 tons.

A spokeswoman for the environment authorities commented that the arrests were for environmental and financial crimes and constituted a "vital step" in ongoing inquiries. The apprehended men have been let go on bail.

Scale of the Issue

The illegal site in Kidlington, located between the Cherwell River and the A34, is believed to hold around 21,000 tons of rubbish in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) lengthwise and 6m (20ft) in height.

This heap of waste is made up of what appears to be sorted domestic waste, chopped up plastics, polystyrene, tyres and assorted everyday articles.

It represents just one example of 517 unlawful dumps in England, at minimum 11 of which are estimated to hold more than 20,000 tons of garbage. They include a 280,000-tonne location in Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne sites in Lancashire and Cornwall county and a 36,000-tonne tip in the county of Kent.

The overall amount of such larger locations is likely to be higher, as the environmental authority has earlier acknowledged it does not maintain information on weight for every illegal site.

The majority such locations are in countryside settings, often hidden, and on land that should be arable ground.

Organized Enterprise

Law enforcement report a significant number are operated by criminal organizations, who are making cash by asking for far less than legitimate operators to accept and bury waste.

Firms have to incur disposal fees to use lawful disposal sites, contingent on the quantity and category of material they are trying to dispose of, and a waste tax is also levied at just over £126 per metric ton.

Public Outrage

Initial work to clear the Kidlington area dump started earlier this month due to fears over the potential of combustion and the effect that would have on the adjacent major road.

A commercial waste removal contractor has been given the task to remediate the area over the coming 12 months period at a expense of £9.6m.

An investigations officer for the national environmental crime unit commented that the body would be aiming to claim back the clearance costs under confiscation laws from any party ultimately prosecuted at the end of its ongoing case.

She further stated that these arrests would help "move the inquiry forward" and permit officials to "pursue more lines of inquiry to determine exactly what transpired and who was a party to it".

"This illegal dump at this location was an atrocious and deliberate affront on our natural surroundings and we empathize with the public's frustration at this horrific act," she stated.

A cabinet minister welcomed the actions, stating: "This unauthorized deposit of rubbish at Kidlington is disgraceful and has resulted in considerable detriment to the environment and upset to the surrounding residents.

"Our administration is dedicated to eliminating this category of illegal activity across the country, by increasing resources to combat waste crime, recruiting more staff and implementing tougher checks and fines for those who violate the law."

The apprehensions were executed on a recent Thursday by agents from a specialist organised crime unit and come after an earlier apprehension of a man in his thirties from the Guildford area region in last November. He was released awaiting additional enquiries.