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Bruno Itan

An eyewitness who documented the aftermath of an extensive law enforcement action in the metropolitan area has recounted how local people came back with mutilated bodies of those who had died.

The victims "kept piling up: the count kept increasing", Bruno Itan stated. The total contained law enforcement personnel.

A particular victim had been decapitated - additional victims were "totally disfigured", he reported. Numerous victims displayed what appeared to be blade trauma.

Over 120 individuals were killed during the security action on a criminal gang - the deadliest such raid the municipality has seen.

The eyewitness stated that he was first alerted about the operation Tuesday morning by community members from the Alemão area, who reached out informing him an armed confrontation was occurring.

The eyewitness made his way to a local medical facility, where the casualties were coming in.

The photographer stated that the police stopped members of the press from accessing the affected area, where the security measures were taking place.

"Police officers established a perimeter and declared: 'Journalists are not allowed to pass'."

But Itan, who spent his childhood in the area, stated he succeeded to make his way into the cordoned-off area, where he stayed through the night.

He reported that Tuesday night, local residents commenced searching the elevated terrain which divides Penha from the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for relatives whose whereabouts were unknown since the police raid.

Community members living in Penha organized the discovered victims in a square - the documented evidence reveal the response of the people there.

"The brutality of the situation impacted me a lot: the grief of relatives, parents losing consciousness, pregnant wives, sobbing, furious relatives," the eyewitness remembered.

The photographer

The governor of the state declared that the extensive law enforcement effort involving around 2,500 law enforcement members was aimed at preventing a gang called Red Command from growing their influence.

At first, the Rio state government maintained that sixty alleged criminals and four police officers" were fatally injured during the action.

Authorities later reported that their "preliminary" count indicates that 117 "suspects" lost their lives.

The legal assistance organization, that offers legal help to the poor, has put the total number of casualties to be 132.

According to researchers, the gang represents the unique criminal entity that recently has managed to increase its control throughout Rio state.

It is generally regarded among the biggest criminal organizations in Brazil, together with a rival criminal group, and has a history dating back more than 50 years.

Per Brazilian journalist a specialist, who has been covering criminal activity in the city over many years, Red Command "operates like a franchise" with area gang leaders joining the organization and acting as "business partners".

The criminal group focuses mainly on illegal drug trade, additionally trafficking weapons, precious metals, fuel, liquor cigarettes.

Per law enforcement statements, criminal affiliates are well armed and authorities stated that while the action was underway, they came under attack using drone-delivered explosives.

The state leader of the region, the political leader, characterized gang affiliates as drug terrorists and called the four police officers fatally injured in the action as "heroes".

But the number of casualties in the security action has faced scrutiny from international human rights authorities saying it was "appalled".

At a news conference on Wednesday, the official justified security actions.

"It wasn't our intention to cause fatalities. We intended to take suspects into custody without harm," he declared.

He further explained that the circumstances had escalated because the suspects fought back: "It was a consequence of the retaliation they implemented and the excessive violence from the gang members."

The governor additionally stated that the casualties presented by community members in the neighborhood had been "tampered with".

Through a message through digital channels, he claimed that certain victims had been taken of tactical gear which he claimed they wore "to redirect responsibility to security forces".

A law enforcement representative of Rio's civil police force also said that "camouflage clothing, protective equipment, and weapons" had been removed from the bodies and showed footage seemingly depicting a person cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse