A book that claims police corruption in Victoria has been ignored for years is being withdrawn from sale in that state.

The publisher of Snouts In The Trough says the Victorian Office of Public Prosecutions is demanding the book be withdrawn because it breaches suppression orders, some of which are up to five years old.

The author, Andrew Fraser, has never been shy of controversy.

Following his release from jail for drug trafficking to feed his cocaine addiction, the former criminal lawyer threw himself into telling his story and that of the state of law enforcement in Victoria.

Snouts In The Trough is the story of Malcolm Rosenes, a former drug squad detective who in 2003 was himself convicted of drug dealing and served three years in jail.

In it, Mr Fraser alleges police involved in serious corruption remain in the force and that the state government, the police Ethical Standards Department and the Office of Police Integrity (OPI) have long known about it in the form of a debrief from Mr Rosenes.

"It's some thousands of pages, two or 3,000, so I've read nearly all of it and that was given to Ethical Standards, which then went to the OPI and therefore is in the government domain and that was in 2001," Mr Fraser said.

He says "absolutely nothing" has been done with the information.

The book also claims corrupt police habitually planted false evidence to get convictions, stole and sold the drugs they were meant to be taking off the streets and even murdered.

Mr Rosenes was the officer who led the investigation against Mr Fraser in 1999.

"He was the detective sergeant at the drug squad that had the search warrant executed on my house, and to say that his behaviour left a little to be desired is an understatement," Mr Fraser said.

The book came about when Mr Fraser's business partner was approached by Mr Rosenes, who wanted to tell the story of his jail experience and get Mr Fraser to write it - the end result is very different.

It tells how a young policeman slides into corruption, which began with free food and other discounts and ended in the betrayal of the badge.

"One, he's worried about what's going on, but at the same time he's behaving in a seriously corrupt matter; the matters that brought about his arrest and downfall are serious, serious drug trafficking charges - there's no doubt about that," Mr Fraser said.

"But for some reason he's also got this half-baked idea [of] thought that he might be doing some right, but at the same time he's making some dough on the side and a lot of it, but he never seems to meld the two together."

Mr Fraser says the book should not be interpreted as an attack on Victoria Police.

"I'm not saying all the coppers are corrupt, but what I'm saying is there is an element that needs to be rooted out and there is a continual refusal by successive governments to even remotely address the issue," he said.

Mr Rosenes was unavailable for comment.

Lateline also asked the State Government Solicitor and the Attorney-General for comment but has had no response.

Victoria Police declined to comment.

Watch the full report on Lateline tonight at 10:30 on ABC1.