Uranium, cash, chemicals and illicit drugs have been seized in raids connected to the illegal leaking of confidential police files.
A joint operation involving the Victoria Police Petra taskforce, the Ethical Standards Department (ESD) and the Office of Police Integrity (OPI) resulted in three men being arrested on Wednesday.
Petra was set up to investigate the 2004 murder of police informer Terence Hodson and his wife Christine, after Mr Hodson agreed to give evidence against police accused of drug trafficking.
The OPI is investigating the leaking of a secret police file identifying Mr Hodson as an informer to the underworld.
The OPI and the ESD investigations revealed criminal links between police and an alleged well-organised drug syndicate and led to Wednesday's raids and arrests in metropolitan Melbourne and country Victoria.
Police raided a house in Penola Street, Preston, after allegedly discovering a clandestine laboratory and about eight litres of an undisclosed drug of dependence and cash.
They arrested and charged Garry McMillan, 42, of Preston, with drug trafficking and manufacturing and other offences. He was remanded to appear in court at a later date.
They also raided a storage shed at Harcourt, north of Melbourne, where they allegedly found uranium, which is valuable on the black market, and chemicals and glassware.
Police also raided a house in Bulla and allegedly found a hydroponic cannabis plantation and equipment for making amphetamines, while they allegedly found similar equipment, $120,000 in cash and a handgun at a house in Kangaroo Flat, near Bendigo.
Andrew McNaughton, 46, of Kangaroo Flat, was charged with drug trafficking and remanded to appear in court at a later date, and an unnamed 49-year-old Bulla man was charged with various illicit drug offences and will appear in court in June.
Detective Inspector Steve Smith said a well organised (actually this is baby stuff - and only for show) syndicate involved in the manufacture and distribution of drugs had been smashed.
An OPI spokeswoman said it was not alleged that any corrupt police were involved in Wednesday's arrests.
The arrests come after members of the Petra task force have charged two men over the Hodson murders in the past two months.
Those charged were former policeman and one-time drug squad detective Paul Dale and Rodney Charles Collins, 63, who is accused of pulling the trigger.
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