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The photographer

A photographer who witnessed the results of an extensive Brazilian police operation in Rio de Janeiro has recounted how residents came back with mutilated bodies of the deceased individuals.

The bodies "kept coming: the numbers kept rising", the photographer stated. The total contained law enforcement personnel.

One individual was found without a head - while others appeared "totally disfigured", he explained. Several bodies showed evidence of blade trauma.

More than 120 people lost their lives in the Tuesday operation targeting an illegal organization - the bloodiest action the municipality has seen.

The photographer stated that he was first alerted to the raid early on Tuesday by residents living in Alemão, who reached out informing him gunfire had erupted.

The photographer made his way to the Getúlio Vargas hospital, where the victims were being brought.

Itan explained that law enforcement blocked media personnel from going into the Penha neighborhood, where the security measures was under way.

"Security forces established a perimeter and said: 'The press are not allowed to pass'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who was raised in the community, reported he was able to enter into the cordoned-off area, where he continued until the next morning.

He reported during the night, local residents commenced searching the mountainous area that borders the community of Penha and the adjacent Alemão area for loved ones who were unaccounted for since the police raid.

Community members of the Penha neighbourhood proceeded to place the discovered victims in an open area - the photographer's images show the reaction of the gathered crowd.

"The harsh reality of what occurred shook me deeply: the pain of loved ones, women collapsing, pregnant wives, weeping, outraged parents," the reporter recounted.

The eyewitness

The governor of the region announced that the large-scale security action with approximately 2,500 officers was designed to halting an illegal organization referred to as Red Command from growing their influence.

At first, local officials maintained that sixty individuals and four police officers" were fatally injured during the action.

Officials subsequently stated that their "preliminary" count suggests that 117 individuals were fatally injured.

The legal assistance organization, which provides legal assistance to the poor, has put the total number of people killed as 132.

According to researchers, the gang stands as the sole illegal faction which in recent years has been able to expand its territory across the region.

Experts commonly view as a major illegal faction in Brazil, alongside another major gang, with a background dating back more than 50 years.

Per reporter Rafael Soares, who has been covering crime in Rio extensively, the gang "functions as a network" with local criminal leaders joining the organization and becoming "commercial associates".

The organization focuses mainly on narcotics distribution, but also smuggles weapons, valuable minerals, energy resources, liquor cigarettes.

Per law enforcement statements, gang members possess significant weaponry and authorities stated that throughout the operation, they encountered resistance via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The official of the region, the government representative, characterized Red Command members as "narcoterrorists" and referred to the security forces killed in the raid as "heroes".

However, the count of casualties in the security action has faced scrutiny from international human rights authorities stating they were "horrified".

At a news conference the next day, Governor Castro justified security actions.

"There was no objective to cause fatalities. We intended to take suspects into custody without harm," he stated.

He further explained that the events worsened because the suspects had retaliated: "It occurred of the counterattack they carried out and the excessive violence from the gang members."

The state leader additionally stated that the victims shown by residents in the neighborhood had been "tampered with".

In a post through digital channels, he asserted that particular individuals had been taken of tactical gear he said they had been wearing "to transfer accusation to security forces".

A law enforcement representative from the police department further reported that tactical gear, body armor, and firearms" were stripped from the victims and presented video apparently demonstrating a man cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse