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Two men have been taken into custody as part of an probe into the illegal deposit of thousands of tonnes of rubbish in a open field in Oxfordshire.

Officials reported that a 69-year-old was arrested at a residence in Hampshire's Andover, while a man in his fifties was taken into custody in the town of Slough in relation with the huge heap of waste dumped near the area of Kidlington.

These arrests occur a week after a prior investigation which uncovered the existence of in excess of 500 unauthorized tips across the country of England, featuring at minimum 11 so-called "super sites" bigger than 20,000 tons.

A spokeswoman for the environment agency said that the arrests were for environment-related and proceeds of crime violations and represented a "vital step" in active probes. The apprehended men have been released on bail.

Scale of the Issue

The illegal site in near Kidlington, situated between the River Cherwell and the A34, is estimated to house about 21,000 metric tons of rubbish in a heap which is up to 150m (490ft) long and 6m (20ft) high.

This mound of garbage is composed of what looks to be treated domestic refuse, fragmented plastics, polystyrene, tyres and various household items.

It is just a single of 517 illegal dumps throughout England, at least 11 of which are estimated to hold in excess of 20,000 tons of waste. They encompass a 280,000-tonne location in the county of Cheshire, two 50,000-tonne locations in Lancashire and Cornwall and a 36,000-tonne dump in Kent.

The actual figure of such larger sites is expected to be greater, as the regulatory body has earlier acknowledged it does not maintain records on tonnage for each unlawful site.

Most sites are in agricultural areas, often concealed, and on land that should be farm ground.

Organised Enterprise

Authorities say many are run by organized crime groups, who are generating profit by demanding far less than lawful companies to receive and bury rubbish.

Businesses have to incur gate fees to use lawful waste facilities, based on the amount and nature of material they are trying to dispose of, and landfill tax is also applied at just over £126 per tonne.

Local Anger

Preparation operations to remove the Kidlington dump commenced in recent weeks amid worries over the threat of blaze and the consequences that would have on the close-by A-road.

A private clean-up contractor has been granted the job to handle the area over the following 12 months at a expense of £9.6m.

An compliance official for the country's environmental crime team commented that the authority would be seeking to recoup the clearance funds under proceeds of crime acts from anyone successfully convicted at the termination of its active case.

She added that this week's arrests would help "drive the probe forward" and permit the agency to "investigate more lines of inquiry to understand in detail what transpired and who was implicated".

"This unlawful site at this location was an atrocious and intentional attack on our environment and we share the public's outrage at this horrific act," she said.

A senior minister welcomed the actions, commenting: "The unlawful dumping of rubbish at this location is utterly appalling and has led to considerable harm to the environment and distress to the surrounding residents.

"Our administration is committed to eradicating this category of criminality in the nation, by augmenting financing to combat illegal dumping, employing more personnel and introducing stricter checks and penalties for those who violate the regulations."

The detentions were executed on a recent Thursday by officers from a dedicated organised crime squad and follow an prior detention of a 39-year-old from the Guildford area area in November. He was released pending additional enquiries.