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The photographer

A photographer who witnessed the aftermath of a massive Brazilian police operation in the metropolitan area has recounted how residents brought back disfigured remains of the deceased individuals.

The bodies "kept coming: the count kept increasing", Bruno Itan described. The total contained security forces.

One individual was discovered headless - additional victims were "completely mutilated", he said. Numerous victims displayed what he described as knife injuries.

More than 120 people were fatally injured during the security action on a criminal gang - the bloodiest action in the city.

The photographer explained that he initially learned about the operation in the early hours by residents of the Alemão neighbourhood, who contacted him telling him an armed confrontation was occurring.

The photographer made his way to a local medical facility, where the casualties were being brought.

The eyewitness reported that law enforcement stopped members of the press from entering the affected area, where the police action were occurring.

"Security forces established a perimeter and declared: 'Journalists cannot proceed beyond this point'."

However, the photographer, who spent his childhood in the community, reported he managed to gain access into the restricted zone, where he remained until the next morning.

He described that evening, area inhabitants began to search the hillside which divides Penha from the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for loved ones who had been missing following the security action.

Community members from the Penha area organized the discovered victims in an open area - the documented evidence display the emotions of the gathered crowd.

"The harsh reality of the situation affected me profoundly: the grief of relatives, parents losing consciousness, women carrying children, sobbing, angry family members," the eyewitness remembered.

The photographer

The state leader of Rio state stated that the large-scale security action deploying about 2,500 law enforcement members was designed to stopping a gang referred to as the criminal faction from increasing their control.

Originally, state authorities claimed that "60 suspects plus four law enforcement personnel" lost their lives in the raid.

Officials subsequently stated that initial estimates suggests that 117 "suspects" have been killed.

Rio's public defender's office, which provides legal assistance to disadvantaged individuals, has put the overall count of fatalities to be 132.

Based on expert analysis, the gang represents the unique criminal entity that in the past few years has succeeded to make territorial gains throughout Rio state.

It is widely considered among the biggest criminal organizations in Brazil, alongside another major gang, with a background extending half a century.

Per reporter Rafael Soares, who has long reported on illegal operations in Rio over many years, the gang "operates like a franchise" with neighborhood bosses forming part of the gang and acting as "commercial associates".

The gang focuses mainly on illegal drug trade, while also dealing in firearms, valuable minerals, petroleum products, alcohol and tobacco.

Based on official reports, organization members possess significant weaponry and police said that throughout the operation, they came under attack via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The official of the region, the government representative, described Red Command members as "narcoterrorists" and described the law enforcement personnel who died during the operation as "heroes".

But the number of fatalities in the operation has faced scrutiny with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights stating they were "appalled".

At a news conference the next day, the state leader justified security actions.

"There was no objective to result in deaths. We aimed to detain everyone safely," he said.

He further explained that the situation intensified because the suspects fought back: "It occurred of the retaliation they carried out and the disproportionate use of force by those criminals."

The state leader also said that the victims displayed by locals in Penha were "altered".

Via a statement on social media, he asserted that certain victims had been removed of tactical gear that he stated they possessed "to transfer accusation to security forces".

A police official of Rio's civil police force further reported that "camouflage clothing, body armor, and firearms" were stripped from the bodies and showed footage apparently demonstrating a person stripping military attire {off a corpse