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The eyewitness

An eyewitness who documented the aftermath of an extensive law enforcement action in the Brazilian city has described how residents brought back mutilated bodies of the deceased individuals.

The victims "kept piling up: the numbers kept rising", Bruno Itan stated. The total contained those of police officers.

One individual was found without a head - additional victims were "severely damaged", he said. Numerous victims displayed evidence of stab wounds.

In excess of 120 victims lost their lives in the Tuesday operation on a criminal gang - the deadliest such raid the municipality has seen.

The photographer reported that he initially learned about the operation early on Tuesday by residents from the Alemão area, who contacted him informing him an armed confrontation was occurring.

The eyewitness traveled to the Getúlio Vargas hospital, where the victims were arriving.

Itan explained that security forces stopped members of the press from entering the affected area, where the operation were taking place.

"Police officers created a barrier and announced: 'Media representatives are not allowed to pass'."

However, the photographer, who grew up in that neighborhood, stated he was able to make his way into the restricted zone, where he remained until dawn.

He explained that evening, area inhabitants started looking the mountainous area which divides the community of Penha and the adjacent Alemão area for loved ones whose whereabouts were unknown after the operation.

Local people living in Penha proceeded to place the recovered bodies in an open area - the documented evidence display the emotions of the gathered crowd.

"The harsh reality of the situation shook me profoundly: the sorrow of relatives, women collapsing, expectant spouses, crying, outraged parents," the reporter recounted.

The eyewitness

The official of the state announced that the large-scale security action with approximately 2,500 law enforcement members was aimed at preventing a gang called Comando Vermelho from growing their influence.

At first, state authorities maintained that sixty alleged criminals and four police officers" were fatally injured in the raid.

They have since said that initial estimates suggests that 117 "suspects" were fatally injured.

Rio's public defender's office, which provides legal assistance to disadvantaged individuals, has calculated the total number of people killed at 132.

Per investigative findings, the gang stands as the sole illegal faction which in recent years has succeeded to make territorial gains in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

It is widely considered among the biggest criminal organizations nationally, in company with First Capital Command, featuring a timeline dating back more than 50 years.

Based on Brazilian journalist Rafael Soares, who has been covering criminal activity in the city over many years, the gang "operates like a franchise" with local criminal leaders forming part of the gang and acting as "operational allies".

The organization focuses mainly on narcotics distribution, while also dealing in guns, precious metals, petroleum products, beverages and tobacco.

Per law enforcement statements, gang members possess significant weaponry and officials reported that while the action was underway, they encountered resistance using drone-delivered explosives.

The state leader of the region, Cláudio Castro, characterized organization participants as drug terrorists and described the four police officers fatally injured in the action as courageous individuals.

However, the count of fatalities in the security action has faced scrutiny from UN human rights officials saying it was "shocked".

During a press briefing the next day, the state leader supported law enforcement.

"There was no objective to kill anyone. We aimed to detain everyone safely," he stated.

He added that the events had escalated because the suspects fought back: "It resulted of the resistance they carried out and the overwhelming response from the gang members."

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

Via a statement on social media, he asserted that particular individuals had been taken of tactical gear that he stated they possessed "to transfer accusation toward law enforcement".

Felipe Curi from the police department also said that military attire, protective equipment, and weapons" had been removed from the casualties and presented video apparently demonstrating a person stripping military attire {off a corpse