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The eyewitness

A photographer who documented the consequences of a massive law enforcement action in the Brazilian city has recounted how local people returned with disfigured remains of the deceased individuals.

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

A particular victim had been decapitated - while others appeared "completely mutilated", he explained. Several bodies showed evidence of blade trauma.

Over 120 individuals lost their lives in the Tuesday operation targeting an illegal organization - the bloodiest action the municipality has seen.

The photographer reported that residents first notified him to the raid Tuesday morning by residents living in Alemão, who reached out informing him gunfire had erupted.

The reporter traveled to a local medical facility, where the victims were coming in.

The eyewitness reported that security forces prevented journalists from accessing the affected area, where the police action were occurring.

"Law enforcement personnel formed a line and said: 'The press are not allowed to pass'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who was raised in the community, explained he managed to gain access into the restricted zone, where he continued until dawn.

He explained that evening, local residents started looking the hillside which divides the community of Penha and the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for relatives whose whereabouts were unknown after the operation.

Local people living in Penha arranged the discovered victims in a square - the documented evidence reveal the reaction of the gathered crowd.

"The brutality of the situation affected me profoundly: the grief of relatives, parents losing consciousness, women carrying children, crying, outraged parents," the reporter recounted.

Bruno Itan

The state leader of the state declared that the massive police operation with approximately 2,500 law enforcement members was designed to halting an illegal organization called Comando Vermelho from increasing their control.

Originally, state authorities maintained that sixty individuals plus four law enforcement personnel" had been killed in the raid.

Authorities later reported that their "preliminary" count suggests that 117 "suspects" were fatally injured.

The public legal service, that offers legal help to the poor, has estimated the final tally of casualties at 132.

According to researchers, the criminal organization represents the unique criminal entity which in recent years has been able to increase its control throughout Rio state.

It is generally regarded one of the two largest gangs in Brazil, in company with another major gang, and has a history extending half a century.

Based on reporter Rafael Soares, with extensive experience documenting illegal operations in Rio for years, the criminal organization "operates like a franchise" with local criminal leaders affiliating with the group and becoming "business partners".

The organization focuses mainly on drug trafficking, while also dealing in firearms, valuable minerals, energy resources, beverages and tobacco.

Per law enforcement statements, organization members have substantial firearms and police said that throughout the operation, they faced assaults using drone-delivered explosives.

The governor of Rio state, the political leader, labeled Red Command members as "narcoterrorists" and called the four police officers killed in the raid as courageous individuals.

However, the count of fatalities in the security action has faced scrutiny from UN human rights officials expressing they felt "appalled".

In a media appearance the next day, the state leader justified security actions.

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

He added that the events worsened as the individuals had retaliated: "It occurred of the counterattack they implemented and the overwhelming response by the illegal group."

The state leader additionally stated that the victims shown by residents in the area were "altered".

In a post through digital channels, he said that certain victims had been stripped of tactical gear which he claimed they wore "to transfer accusation toward law enforcement".

A police official representing security forces further reported that tactical gear, body armor, and firearms" had been removed from the bodies and displayed evidence appearing to show a man cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse