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Bruno Itan

A photographer who witnessed the consequences of a massive security raid in the Brazilian city has reported how local people came back with disfigured remains of those who had died.

The casualties "continued arriving: the numbers kept rising", the eyewitness described. Among them were those of police officers.

One of the bodies was discovered headless - additional victims were "severely damaged", he reported. Many also had what appeared to be stab wounds.

In excess of 120 victims lost their lives in the Tuesday operation on a criminal gang - the deadliest such raid Rio has experienced.

Bruno Itan explained that he was first alerted to the raid in the early hours by local people living in Alemão, who contacted him telling him gunfire had erupted.

The reporter made his way to the healthcare center, where the bodies were coming in.

The eyewitness reported that security forces prevented journalists from entering the Penha neighborhood, where the police action were taking place.

"Security forces established a perimeter and announced: 'Media representatives cannot proceed beyond this point'."

However, the photographer, who spent his childhood in the area, reported he was able to gain access past the security perimeter, where he continued until dawn.

He explained that evening, area inhabitants began to search the mountainous area that borders Penha from the adjacent Alemão area for relatives whose whereabouts were unknown since the police raid.

Community members from the Penha area organized the recovered bodies in an open area - the documented evidence display the response of those present.

"The harsh reality of what occurred affected me profoundly: the grief of relatives, parents losing consciousness, women carrying children, sobbing, furious relatives," the photographer recalled.

The eyewitness

The state leader of the region stated that the large-scale security action deploying about 2,500 security personnel was aimed at stopping a gang referred to as Red Command from growing their influence.

Initially, state authorities stated that "60 suspects along with four officers" lost their lives in the raid.

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

The legal assistance organization, which provides legal assistance to disadvantaged individuals, has put the overall count of fatalities as 132.

Based on expert analysis, the criminal organization is the only criminal group which in recent years has been able to make territorial gains in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

It is generally regarded among the biggest criminal organizations nationally, alongside another major gang, featuring a timeline dating back more than 50 years.

According to Brazilian journalist an expert, with extensive experience documenting illegal operations in Rio over many years, the criminal organization "operates like a franchise" with neighborhood bosses affiliating with the group and becoming "business partners".

The organization focuses mainly on illegal drug trade, while also dealing in firearms, valuable minerals, fuel, alcohol cigarettes.

Per law enforcement statements, criminal affiliates possess significant weaponry and police said that throughout the operation, they faced assaults via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The governor of the state, the government representative, labeled organization participants as criminal extremists and called the four police officers fatally injured in the action as brave public servants.

Nevertheless, the total of people killed during the raid has come in for criticism from international human rights authorities stating they were "shocked".

During a press briefing on Wednesday, the official supported law enforcement.

"There was no objective to cause fatalities. We wanted to arrest them all alive," he said.

He continued that the events intensified as the individuals had retaliated: "It occurred of the counterattack they implemented and the disproportionate use of force from the gang members."

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

In a post on online platforms, he claimed that particular individuals had been taken of tactical gear that he stated they possessed "to redirect responsibility to security forces".

Felipe Curi from the police department additionally stated that military attire, protective equipment, and firearms" were stripped from the casualties and presented video seemingly depicting a person cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse