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Bruno Itan

A reporter who observed the results of a massive Brazilian police operation in Rio de Janeiro has recounted how local people returned with badly injured victims of people who lost their lives.

The bodies "kept coming: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", Bruno Itan described. They included law enforcement personnel.

A particular victim had been decapitated - additional victims were "completely mutilated", he reported. Many also had evidence of knife injuries.

Over 120 individuals lost their lives during Tuesday's raid targeting an illegal organization - the bloodiest action the municipality has seen.

The eyewitness stated that he initially learned to the raid Tuesday morning by local people of the Alemão neighbourhood, who reached out telling him there was a shoot-out.

The eyewitness made his way to the healthcare center, where the casualties were coming in.

The eyewitness reported that law enforcement stopped members of the press from going into the affected area, where the security measures was under way.

"Security forces created a barrier and declared: 'Media representatives are not allowed to pass'."

But Itan, who was raised in that neighborhood, reported he was able to make his way into the cordoned-off area, where he continued until the next morning.

He described during the night, local residents commenced searching the elevated terrain that separates the community of Penha and the adjacent Alemão area for loved ones who were unaccounted for following the security action.

Local people of the Penha neighbourhood arranged the discovered victims in a public space - the photographer's images display the response of the gathered crowd.

"The brutality of it all shook me deeply: the pain of the families, mothers fainting, women carrying children, crying, furious relatives," the photographer recalled.

The photographer

The official of Rio state stated that the massive police operation involving around 2,500 law enforcement members was designed to stopping a criminal group called Comando Vermelho from increasing their control.

At first, the Rio state government stated that sixty alleged criminals and four police officers" had been killed in the operation.

They have since said that initial estimates suggests that 117 "suspects" have been killed.

The public legal service, that offers legal help to low-income residents, has estimated the total number of casualties to be 132.

According to researchers, the gang stands as the sole illegal faction that in the past few years has been able to increase its control in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

It is generally regarded one of the two largest gangs in Brazil, together with First Capital Command, featuring a timeline dating back more than 50 years.

Based on reporter an expert, with extensive experience documenting crime in Rio extensively, the criminal organization "works as a system" with local criminal leaders forming part of the gang and becoming "commercial associates".

The criminal group concentrates largely on narcotics distribution, while also dealing in guns, gold, fuel, liquor cigarettes.

According to the authorities, criminal affiliates have substantial firearms and authorities stated that during the raid, they encountered resistance via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The official of the state, Cláudio Castro, characterized organization participants as drug terrorists and referred to the law enforcement personnel fatally injured in the action as courageous individuals.

But the number of fatalities in the security action has faced scrutiny with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights expressing they felt "horrified".

At a news conference on Wednesday, the official defended the police force.

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

He added that the circumstances intensified because the suspects fought back: "It was a consequence of the retaliation they implemented and the overwhelming response from the gang members."

The governor additionally stated that the casualties displayed by locals in Penha had been "manipulated".

Via a statement on social media, he asserted that some of them had been removed of tactical gear which he claimed they wore "in order to shift blame toward law enforcement".

Felipe Curi of Rio's civil police force also said that "camouflage clothing, protective equipment, and firearms" had been removed from the bodies and showed footage apparently demonstrating a man removing tactical gear {off a corpse