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Bruno Itan

A reporter who documented the consequences of an extensive law enforcement action in the metropolitan area has described how community members came back with disfigured remains of those who had died.

The casualties "continued arriving: the count kept increasing", the photographer reported. Among them were law enforcement personnel.

One of the bodies had been decapitated - additional victims were "severely damaged", he explained. Numerous victims displayed what he described as blade trauma.

More than 120 people were killed in the Tuesday operation targeting an illegal organization - the bloodiest action in the city.

The eyewitness reported that he initially learned to the raid Tuesday morning by residents living in Alemão, who contacted him alerting him there was a shoot-out.

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

The eyewitness reported that law enforcement blocked media personnel from accessing the operation zone, where the operation were occurring.

"Police officers formed a line and declared: 'Media representatives are not allowed to pass'."

But Itan, who grew up in that neighborhood, stated he was able to gain access into the restricted zone, where he stayed through the night.

He described that evening, local residents began to search the mountainous area which divides the community of Penha and the adjacent Alemão area for family members who were unaccounted for since the police raid.

Residents of the Penha neighbourhood organized the discovered victims in an open area - the photographer's images show the emotions of those present.

"The brutality of it all impacted me profoundly: the pain of relatives, parents losing consciousness, expectant spouses, sobbing, furious relatives," the photographer recalled.

The eyewitness

The official of Rio state announced that the extensive law enforcement effort with approximately 2,500 security personnel was aimed at preventing a gang referred to as Comando Vermelho from expanding its territory.

Originally, state authorities maintained that sixty individuals and four police officers" lost their lives in the operation.

Authorities later reported that their "preliminary" count shows that 117 alleged criminals lost their lives.

The public legal service, that offers legal help to the poor, has estimated the total number of casualties to be 132.

Based on expert analysis, the gang represents the unique criminal entity that in the past few years has been able to increase its control in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

Experts commonly view among the biggest criminal organizations nationally, in company with another major gang, and has a history spanning over five decades.

Based on correspondent Rafael Soares, who has long reported on criminal activity in the city for years, Red Command "operates like a franchise" with neighborhood bosses forming part of the gang and serving as "commercial associates".

The gang focuses mainly on narcotics distribution, while also dealing in guns, gold, energy resources, beverages and tobacco.

According to the authorities, organization members have substantial firearms and officials reported that throughout the operation, they encountered resistance via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The governor of Rio state, the government representative, labeled organization participants as criminal extremists and referred to the law enforcement personnel who died during the operation as brave public servants.

But the number of people killed in the security action has come in for criticism from international human rights authorities expressing they felt "horrified".

At a news conference on Wednesday, Governor Castro supported law enforcement.

"There was no objective to kill anyone. We intended to take suspects into custody without harm," he said.

He added that the events worsened as the individuals had retaliated: "It occurred of the retaliation they implemented and the disproportionate use of force from the gang members."

The state leader also said that the victims shown by residents in the neighborhood were "altered".

Via a statement on online platforms, he asserted that certain victims had been stripped of the camouflage clothing that he stated they possessed "to transfer accusation to security forces".

A law enforcement representative of Rio's civil police force also said that military attire, body armor, and weapons" were stripped from the bodies and presented video appearing to show a man stripping military attire {off a corpse