St Kilda police station has certainly seen its' share of 'colourful' police officers pass through its doors.

St Kilda is one of the busiest police stations in Australia and has a large uniform and detective force.

Problems at the station date back decades. 

In the 1980s, 40 grams of heroin disappeared from a drug raid carried out by St Kilda police.

The three-storey St Kilda police station in Chapel Street is like no other in the state and some of Australia's best - and strangest - detectives have worked there.

Former undercover policeman Lachlan McCulloch, a detective who exposed police corruption, said that working in St Kilda was a "fantastic experience."

In the mid-1970's, Denis Tanner was stationed at South Melbourne and Shepparton before moving onto St Kilda.

It is believed that Peter Pilarinos, a drug trafficker convicted of bribing former drug squad detective Kevin Hicks, made extensive statements on police corruption that implicated at least one detective who worked at St Kilda.

It is known that police officers from St Kilda had worked as security guards at a club owned by Peter Pilarinos.

Pilarinos, who bribed Hicks, to provide seized drugs kept at the drug squad lock-up in Attwood, is believed to have made allegations going back 15 years and named a large number of police.

None of his claims have been confirmed.

Police authorities have long been concerned at some of the activities rumoured to involve St Kilda police.

They once banned officers belonging to the specialist crime squads transferring to St Kilda in an attempt to break the "macho culture" of the station.

They also brought in a new supervising sergeants to change work practices.

Other police acknowledge that their Chapel Street colleagues are different.

It has always been so.

In the 1950s, gunman Norman Bradshaw refused to drive through St Kilda because he was frightened of being beaten by the local police.

St Kilda detectives are so proud of their reputation they have had a special tie made up.

The insignia is the scales of justice - on one side is a black crow with a syringe in its mouth and the other a stick figure with a halo above its head.

The crow represents the prostitutes of the area, the sainted figure is a detective - and in his left hand he carries a sledgehammer.

Some police love the district, while others never want to work in an area where complaints can mar an officer's career.

One policeman who worked there said: "There was so much crime that you couldn't help but catch crooks. It was like shooting fish in a barrel."

He said some of the 90 police at the station would work on days off to complete paperwork so they could spend as much duty time on the road during duty hours.

But some who have worked there have long been rumoured to be "on the take".

In the 1980s, there was the scandal of the missing 40 grams of heroin missing from a drug raid.

In the mid-1990's, the St Kilda police station was rebuilt and contractors demolished the adjoining police garage - known as the "Bat Cave".

On the roof they found hundreds of empty stubbies and - it was rumoured - three sticks of gelignite.

When they knocked down the old police station a number of unexplained "court exhibits" were found hidden in the wall cavities.

In 1998, contractors cleaning ceiling panels at the St Kilda Road CIB complex found unregistered guns.

A search uncovered nine handguns, including several above the office of a policeman who is now a senior officer.

On May 10, 2000, up to 10 guns - including a sawn-off rifle, handguns and fake firearms - several knives, cannabis seeds, white powder believed to be heroin, and a small amount of cash were seized during an investigation into poor management and work practices at the St Kilda criminal investigation unit and the Embona taskforce at St Kilda police station.

Internal investigators went to the station after receiving an anonymous complaint from a police officer that alleged improper work practices and questioned the number of detectives on sick leave.

It began as a routine inquiry but investigators found money, drugs and illegal guns in the office.

It is believed most of the guns were hidden in the ceiling.

Items were also believed to have been found in locker rooms.

After discovering a small quantity of marijuana seeds under a desk drawer in their initial search of the offices, investigators noticed panelling in the false ceiling had been disturbed.

Seven guns were found which included a sawn-off shotgun, a rifle, a revolver, a pistol and two imitation guns.

Several bags of marijuana, amphetamines, credit cards, stereo equipment, number plates, illegal knives, a non-police issue steel baton and about $200 cash were also found.

Assistant Commissioner (Ethical Standards) Graham McDonald said investigators from the police ethical standards department were conducting a search of work dairies, office equipment and records when they found a "quantity of substance", believed to be a drug.

"Shortly thereafter, investigators observed that the roof panelling in what is a false ceiling - a standard-type ceiling in any office building - appeared to have been disturbed," he said.
"As a consequence, members then searched the roof cavity of that particular area and found a number of items."

Police sources said the search concentrated on the second floor CIU office and the first and ground floor uniform branches remained open.

It will not be possible to establish how long the guns have been there unless they can be identified through ballistics or police records.

It is believed the items were not registered in the station's property book.

The guns will be tested by ballistics experts to see if they match weapons used in any known crimes.

A former detective said guns had been hidden in ceilings rather than lockers because it was virtually impossible to identify which policeman had handled them and therefore impossible to press charges.

The guns, known as "throw-aways", have sometimes been planted as false evidence to justify charging known criminals with possessing illegal firearms.

Some detectives have been known to keep small amounts of drugs to give to addict informers for information on major crimes.

Graeme McDonald said two officers had been questioned so far but no charges had been laid.

Mr McDonald said investigators had searched St Kilda after they received an anonymous letter from a police member that supported their concerns about the Embona taskforce and the CIU.

He said investigators had launched Operation Cad some months ago to look into concerns about the work practices and management of a handful of staff.

Mr McDonald denied the operation was linked to allegations made by Peter Pilarinos.

"There would be no answer that I could think of that would completely answer to my satisfaction why these items were where they were.

"St Kilda over the years has had a poor track record ... for some reason things like this appear to pop up every now and again."

On December 22, 2001, the Herald Sun reported that despite a 19 month internal investigation into pistols, drugs and other items found at the station in May 2000, the origin of the stash remained a mystery.

Assistant Commissioner Graham MacDonald said forensic tests, including DNA, ballistic checks and fingerprinting, had failed to link the seized items to any police officers or any crime.

Investigators did not have the power to force officers to provide DNA samples. DNA taken from items did not match DNA traces on seized items.

The investigation, overseen by ombudsman Barry Perry, did uncover serious flaws in management and three officers were found to have breached disciplinary guidelines.

One of those officers had since left the force and the other two have been moved.

On December 3, 2007, the Age reported that Victoria Police's credibility was to come under further pressure as the state's corruption watchdog turned its attention to the trouble-plagued St Kilda station.

Office of Police Integrity hearings on the station, which had been embroiled in controversy during the year, could intensify calls for a royal commission on police corruption.

St Kilda police are bracing themselves for interrogation by the OPI after being told by a member of the police ethical standards department during a training day the previous week that several officers would be quizzed over the next fortnight about misconduct allegations.

The exact nature of the allegations was not disclosed but they were informed of their rights and responsibilities under the Police Regulations Act and advised about confidentiality rules surrounding OPI hearings. The ethical standards investigator warned them to think carefully about withholding the truth to protect their colleagues because it could have career-ending consequences.

Several St Kilda police have been suspended in the previous year while being investigated and other senior officers have been moved elsewhere within the force without being told why.

Victoria Police declined to comment about the latest hearings when contacted by The Age. A spokesman for the OPI also refused to comment.

News of the probe comes as the latest blow to the state's already fragile police force, which is still coming to terms with last month's OPI hearing into the unlawful release of confidential information surrounding the 2003 murder of male prostitute Shane Chartres-Abbott.

The force's media director, Stephen Linnell, and the man tipped to become Victoria Police's next chief commissioner, Assistant Commissioner Noel Ashby, were forced to resign in disgrace last month after they admitted they had lied under oath about their involvement. Both could face criminal charges.

The Age revealed last year that St Kilda Sergeant Rick Lewis was one of two police being investigated over involvement in Shot Dogs, a hot dog business operating outside popular Melbourne night spots.

The ethical standards department was probing claims that the business, believed to be making up to $10,000 a weekend, paid off-duty officers cash to sell hot dogs and that marked police cars were seen delivering bread rolls and other food to vans when supplies ran low. They were also accused of intimidating other operators and threatening to drive them out of business.

Sergeant Lewis has since been shifted to Collingwood police station.

He is also believed to be under internal investigation for interfering in the relocation of two junior officers from St Kilda.

In a separate incident, former St Kilda Sergeant Nathan Kaeser was criticised by a magistrate for his role in the alleged assault of a man in custody at the station. He is now working at police headquarters.

And St Kilda Sergeant Chris Lim was investigated last year over his interests in a property company in which a fellow investor is an associate of Mick Gatto, the man acquitted of murdering Andrew Veniamin in Melbourne's gangland war.

More recently, Sergeant Tony Juric was suspended from the station in October over claims he intimidated a member of the public.

The same member of the public is understood to be connected to the suspension of two officers last year who were accused of threatening her after she refused to make a statement about a road crash she saw.

On February 7, 2008, it was reported that the Office of Police Integrity was investigating claims some officers at a suburban station had improper relationships with transvestite prostitutes.

One senior officer was accused of having a sexual relationship with a transvestite prostitute.

The OPI would not comment on reports it would hold public hearings on activities at the station.

An OPI spokesman said he was not aware of embarrassing and incriminating photos that were publicised the previous day.

The station had already been the subject of accusations of inappropriate use of police vehicles and a cover-up of a road smash.