Surveillance footage showed two men approach the home's porch, smash the overhead light, break down the door and then leave the house empty-handed a few minutes later.

A neighbour saw the unusual activity and called police, who arrived almost immediately with two dog units.

Members of the dog squad apprehended the two suspects, including the off-duty policeman, nearby.

Sen Det Miechel was mauled by a police dog when arrested and later had surgery for facial injuries.

Among the charges he would face was an allegation he assaulted the dog's police handler.

Hodson was caught shortly after.

He was cowering in a nearby school.

Police found bags full of drugs and money that the pair had thrown over the back fence.

The alleged robbers had obviously planned to collect them later.

Miechel, who had been a policeman for 14 years, was suspended after the suspected burglary.

He claimed he had been mistaken for one of the robbers after he came across them at the house and gave chase.

But Hodson admitted to his role and agreed to give evidence against the detective.

Hodson denied Det-Sgt Dale was involved, but later implicated him in the theft.

Following Miechel and Hodson's arrests police immediately raided the home and uncovered 200,000 ecstasy tablets, three kilograms of MDMA (ecstasy) powder, two kilograms of crystallised methamphetamines known as 'ice', and 5000 LSD tablets.

Also netted were various chemicals, two pill presses and $220,000 cash.

Five people were arrested.

Three of those arrested appeared in court on September 29, 2003.

Azzam Ahmed, 37, his de-facto wife, Colleen O'Reilly, 34, both of Moorabbin, and Abbey Haynes, 23, of Oakleigh East, faced charges including trafficking and possessing commercial amounts of ecstasy and amphetamines.

They did not seek bail and were remanded in custody to face court on January 23, 2004.

A third woman, Louise Kingsey, 28, of Langwarrin, who allegedly gave up her part-time job as a receptionist to be a drug dealer, was charged with trafficking ecstasy and released on bail.

On the same day, Detective Sergeant Dale from the major drug investigation division gave evidence against three people he had arrested.

Dale, 34, detailed in Melbourne Magistrates' Court the four-month operation that led to the bust.

He said that it was the largest seizure of these types of drugs by Victorian police.

On December 5, 2003, Detective Sergeant Dale and Detective Senior Constable Miechel were arrested and charged by anti-corruption police from the Ethical Standards Division.

They were suspended from the force without pay.

Dale appeared in the same court he had given evidence in two months before - this time in the dock - charged with four offences, including conspiracy to traffic large commercial quantities of ecstasy and ice.

The two policemen, along with Terrence Hodson, were accused of conspiring to burgle and steal from the house on the eve of a planned police raid.

Miechel was charged with 16 offences, including trafficking large commercial quantities of ecstasy and ice and trafficking LSD.

Hodson faced 17 charges, including possessing cocaine and acquiring a handgun without a permit.

Like Dale and Miechel, Hodson was also accused of conspiracy to traffic large commercial quantities of ecstasy and ice.

Senior Crown prosecutor Jeremy Rapke, QC, who headed the Corruption Prosecution Unit, told deputy chief magistrate Jelena Popovic that the police brief against the men would be served by February 2, 2004

Defence solicitor Tony Hargreaves said that, as a policeman, Dale had concerns for his safety in the Custody Centre and asked that he be transferred to a prison.

Mr Hargreaves said Dale would probably make an application for bail the following week.

Maria Stylianou, for Miechel, made a similar request about his custody and indicated that he may also apply for bail shortly.

Hodson's solicitor, Jim Valos, asked that his client also be shifted to prison.

Ms Popovic remanded all three in custody for a committal mention on March 19, 2004.

Dale was sacked from the police force, but successfully appealed to the Supreme Court and later resigned.

The charges against Dale were dropped after the shooting deaths of Terrence Hodson and his wife in May 2004.

The couple were shot "execution-style".

Sources told The Age that Terrence and Christine Hodson were on their knees with their hands tied behind their backs when they were shot in the back of the head.

Their bodies were discovered by their son in the lounge room.

Their two German shepherd guard dogs were locked in the garage, possibly indicating they were killed by someone they knew and let them into the unit before they was ambushed.

Hodson was due to give evidence in the prosecution Dale and Miechel.

Following the execution of Mr Hodson, an Office of Police Integrity report fingered Mr Dale as an "obvious suspect" in the disappearance of Mr Hodson's secret police informant file which ended up in the hands of many of the underworld's heavy hitters.

The report found that the leaked file may well have contributed to Terrence Hodson's murder.

Mr Dale denied any involvement in the drug burglary or the theft of the file.

On October 4, 2004, the Melbourne Magistrates Court heard David Miechel threatened Terence Hodson with a card that depicted actor Al Pacino as a gangster from the movie Scarface.

Miechel allegedly gave the card to Hodson's daughter Mandy about six months before Hodson's death, the court was told.

Prosecutor Damien Maguire said Miechel allegedly gave the card to Mandy Hodson in November 2003 to pass on to her father.

Mr Maguire described the card as a "thinly veiled threat" during his opening of a committal hearing for Miechel before Deputy Chief Magistrate Jelena Popovic.

Other allegations heard during the first day of the committal hearing included:

· Terence Hodson allegedly told police that his daughter Nicola and her husband, Peter Reed - who was acquitted over the 1988 Russell Street police station bombing - had been involved in a number of burglaries.

· Miechel had been in a sexual relationship with Mandy Hodson.

· Terence Hodson told Mandy to co-operate with the police investigation of Miechel.

Mr Maguire said Miechel allegedly sprayed himself with dog repellent, believing dogs were at the East Oakleigh house, but was later mauled by a police dog.

The court heard that Hodson had become a police informer, reporting to Miechel, in 2001.

Mr Maguire said Miechel had regular contact with the Hodsons and their daughter Mandy, with whom he developed a sexual relationship.

When cross-examined by Miechel's lawyer, Nick Pappas, Mandy Hodson said she was "positive" she had a relationship with Miechel and told the court he had tattoos on his ankle and forearm as well as a tongue stud and belly button piercing.

Ms Hodson also said Miechel had a scar on his thigh from an accident with a chainsaw when he was younger.

She broke down in tears during the hearing. Ms Hodson said her father asked her to co-operate with the police investigation and told her details of the alleged burglary.

She said she knew that her father and her sister's husband, Peter Reed, had had a disagreement, but was unaware of the allegations that Hodson went to the police about the alleged involvement of his daughter Nicola and her husband in several burglaries.

Reed had been jailed on charges of burglary and attempted murder.

On October 7, 2004, Detective Sergeant David Miechel was committed to stand trial in the Victorian Supreme Court.

He pleaded not guilty.

The prosecution withdrew five charges against Miechel and added a further seven including possessing and trafficking amphetamines and ketamine, a veterinary anaesthetic.

Magistrate Jelana Popovic ordered that Miechel face a directions hearing in the Supreme Court.

The acknowledgement came after the ABC revealed that Paul Dale was reportedly seen with an alleged drug boss in Melbourne.

However police still denied there was any clear evidence that corrupt police were involved with gangland criminals.

ABC TV's Four Corners program revealed that police were aware Paul Dale had links to the syndicate headed by notorious drug dealer and underworld murderer Carl Williams but they allowed him to continue managing Hodson, an informer who was spying on that same syndicate.

The ABC also revealed that police had been told of another link between Paul Dale and other high profile alleged criminals.

Police Assistant Commissioner for Crime, Simon Overland, said police were investigating that allegation.

It was also reported that in mid-2003 Dale had "assisted" convicted murderer Thomas Ivanovic, a member of the Williams crew.

Ivanovic was jailed in October 2003 over the 2002 road-rage murder of a motorcyclist.

In May 2006 a jury found Miechel guilty of seven charges.

He was remanded to be sentenced in August.

Justice Betty King said, when sentencing Miechel in August 2006, he had been in a privileged position, receiving information about illegal activity which he then used to his own advantage.

"You have sworn an oath to uphold the law and the community has acted upon that oath you swore and placed its trust in you," she said.

"You have abused that trust."

Terrence Hodson's daughter Mandy gave evidence about the close relationship Miechel had with her and her family.

She said the man she affectionately called Dimples had confessed to her, saying: "I did it more for you than for your dad."

She said it was hard to reconcile the devoted, highly motivated officer Miechel had apparently been with the person who committed this crime.

The Supreme Court heard the detective's crew at the drug squad had been investigating the Oakleigh East property and Miechel knew there were large amounts of drugs and possibly cash inside.

The house was going to be raided within days.

Justice King sentenced Sen-Det Miechel to 15 years with a non-parole term of 12.

On March 5, 2007, the Herald Sun reported that police and prosecutors hoped fallen gang boss Carl Williams would help solve the murder of Terry and Christine Hodson in the hope it could reduce his sentence over three other murders.

Director of Public Prosecutions Paul Coghlan, QC, said it was important the Hodson murders were solved.

"Any unsolved murders, particularly any that might involve corruption in the police force, we're very anxious to solve."

Mr Coghlan said Williams' degree of co-operation could help reduce his sentence.

"We're happy to receive as much co-operation as we possibly can, " he said.

"But as the thing stands, we don't actually have anything. He's got to decide. The ball's in his court. He knows the areas we're interested in.

"From our point of view, the rules are the more he co-operates the better he'll do on sentence."

Mr Coghlan said the judge who will sentence Williams -- Justice Betty King -- had made it clear in previous gangland cases that degree of co-operation was a major sentencing feature.

On March 24, 2007, the Age reported that disgraced former drug squad detective Paul Dale is suspected of involvement in the shootings of Terence Hodson and his wife, Christine. 

Deputy Commissioner Simon Overland said that Dale  was a "person of interest" in double murder.

Dale had a firm alibi for the night of the killings. He was in country Victoria, and while there made calls to police colleagues. But investigators are examining whether his activities before the murders may have encouraged criminals to kill the Hodsons.

In another development, The Age revealed that police have asked the Australian Crime Commission to join the murder investigation.

It was the first time the commission has used its coercive powers, under which suspects must answer questions or be sent to jail, to find a link between police corruption and the killing of the Hodsons.

At least one former policeman has been questioned.

Asked if Dale's suspected links with the Hodson murders left a stain on police, Mr Overland said: "Whether it is a stain or not remains to be seen. But it certainly leaves a question … and that is why it is important for us to get to the bottom of this."

He said that investigations into Melbourne's gangland murders and organised crime were not over. "There is a heck of a lot for us yet to do," he said. "So the Hodson investigation is just part of that continuing fight."

An Age investigation into Paul Dale and the Hodson murders uncovered that before Hodson was murdered, Dale asked him to find out where gangland drug boss Jason Moran was hiding, and about his plans to murder his rival Carl Williams. Hodson told corruption investigators he believed Dale was working for Williams, who later murdered Moran.