Former Australian special forces commando Heston Russell knows the meaning of conflict.

 With a proud lineage of military relatives, he enlisted in the army at 17 and rose through the ranks to become a highly decorated officer with more than 10,000 hours of leadership in combat operations, including four combat deployments to Afghanistan and a fifth to Iraq to fight against ISIS.

He proved fearless in battle, iron-willed in his personal convictions and prepared to put it all on the line.

As a soldier, Russell led our troops into countless battles and when he retired, he kept fighting. He campaigned for the royal commission into veteran suicide, built charities for soldiers and even ran for a seat in the Queensland senate.

But his toughest fight came several years after his discharge, when Russell became the target of a relentless attack launched by the investigations unit of the ABC alleging that he was the worst kind of soldier – leaving a trail of destruction in Afghanistan and involved in fraudulent behaviour back home.

Russell's battleground this time: the Australian Federal Court, where he spent almost three years fending off the ABC's allegations of war crimes.

So, is he a war hero or war criminal?

Award-wining journalist Liam Bartlett presents this 7NEWS Spotlightspecial investigation.

Gangland criminals once eliminated their drug rivals quietly, preferring to draw as little attention as possible. However, in recent years, everything has changed dramatically. 

With the shocking transformation of organised crime, shifting from discreet eliminations to technically sophisticated and audacious public attacks, headlines of drive-by shootings and kidnappings have become the new norm.

The crime syndicates exploit cutting-edge technology to evade law enforcement, highlighted by the recent dismantling of an encrypted communications network known as Ghost.

In an eye-opening investigation, this Sunday at 8.50pm on Channel 7 and 7plus, 7NEWS Spotlightreveals the alarming rise of violence happening in plain sight among Australia's drug gangs.

This specialinvestigation features insights from AFP Assistant Commissioner Kirsty Schofield, Victoria Police's former Homicide Detective Charlie Bezzina, NSW Police's former Detective Superintendent Deborah Wallace, former NSW Detective Michael Kennedy and The Daily Telegraph's Senior Crime Reporter Josh Hanrahan.

As the stakes soar into the billions, 7NEWS Spotlightexamines how gangs have become increasingly brazen, endangering innocent lives in their quest for dominance, featuring a harrowing incident from late 2021 when a public shooting occurred outside a childcare centre.

And don't miss a very special exclusive interview with the legendary Aussie actor Jack Thompson.

Jack sits down with 7NEWS Spotlight's Michael Usher for his most revealing interview yet, reflecting on his health battle and that iconic Cleo nude centrefold that shocked Australia. The interview also features appearances by Ita Buttrose and Bryan Brown.