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Bruno Itan

A reporter who observed the aftermath of a massive Brazilian police operation in the Brazilian city has reported how community members came back with mutilated bodies of people who lost their lives.

The casualties "kept coming: the numbers kept rising", the photographer stated. They included those of police officers.

A particular victim was discovered headless - while others appeared "completely mutilated", he explained. Many also had what appeared to be stab wounds.

More than 120 people were fatally injured during Tuesday's raid targeting an illegal organization - the deadliest such raid the municipality has seen.

The photographer explained that he initially learned concerning the action in the early hours by community members from the Alemão area, who contacted him alerting him gunfire had erupted.

The reporter made his way to the Getúlio Vargas hospital, where the victims were arriving.

The eyewitness reported that law enforcement blocked media personnel from entering the Penha neighborhood, where the operation were taking place.

"Police officers formed a line and declared: 'The press doesn't get past here'."

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 dawn.

He described during the night, community members began to search the elevated terrain that separates the Penha neighborhood from the neighboring Alemão community for family members who had been missing since the police raid.

Local people of the Penha neighbourhood proceeded to place the located casualties in a public space - the documented evidence show the emotions of those present.

"The brutality of the situation shook me a lot: the grief of relatives, mothers fainting, women carrying children, crying, angry family members," the eyewitness remembered.

The eyewitness

The state leader of Rio state declared that the extensive law enforcement effort deploying about 2,500 law enforcement members was intended to halting a criminal group referred to as Comando Vermelho from increasing their control.

At first, local officials stated that sixty individuals along with four officers" lost their lives in the raid.

Authorities later reported that early calculations suggests that 117 "suspects" have been killed.

The public legal service, that gives legal support to disadvantaged individuals, has estimated the overall count of people killed at 132.

According to researchers, Red Command stands as the sole illegal faction which in recent years has succeeded to make territorial gains throughout Rio state.

It is widely considered as a major illegal faction in the country, in company with a rival criminal group, featuring a timeline extending half a century.

According to correspondent an expert, with extensive experience documenting criminal activity in the city for years, Red Command "operates like a franchise" with area gang leaders forming part of the gang and becoming "commercial associates".

The gang focuses mainly on drug trafficking, additionally trafficking guns, precious metals, fuel, beverages cigarettes.

According to the authorities, gang members are well armed and officials reported that during the raid, they came under attack via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The governor of the region, the political leader, labeled gang affiliates as criminal extremists and called the four police officers who died during the operation as brave public servants.

But the number of people killed during the raid has faced scrutiny from UN human rights officials expressing they felt "appalled".

During a press briefing the following day, Governor Castro justified security actions.

"There was no objective to cause fatalities. We wanted to detain everyone safely," he declared.

He continued that the circumstances intensified due to the alleged criminals fought back: "It resulted of the resistance they carried out and the overwhelming response by those criminals."

The governor further reported that the bodies shown by residents in Penha were "altered".

Via a statement through digital channels, he said that certain victims had been stripped of the camouflage clothing he said they had been wearing "to transfer accusation toward law enforcement".

Felipe Curi of Rio's civil police force further reported that "camouflage clothing, body armor, and arms" had been removed from the victims and presented video appearing to show an individual cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse