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Bruno Itan

A reporter who witnessed the aftermath of a large-scale Brazilian police operation in Rio de Janeiro has described how local people brought back disfigured remains of people who lost their lives.

The bodies "kept piling up: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", Bruno Itan reported. Among them were security forces.

One individual had been decapitated - additional victims were "totally disfigured", he reported. Several bodies showed what he described as stab wounds.

In excess of 120 victims lost their lives in the Tuesday operation targeting an illegal organization - the most lethal operation the municipality has seen.

The photographer reported that he was first alerted about the operation in the early hours by local people from the Alemão area, who contacted him informing him gunfire had erupted.

The eyewitness went to the healthcare center, where the victims were being brought.

The photographer stated that the police stopped members of the press from accessing the Penha neighborhood, where the police action was under way.

"Law enforcement personnel formed a line and announced: 'Media representatives doesn't get past here'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who spent his childhood in the area, stated he succeeded to enter into the restricted zone, where he remained until dawn.

He reported during the night, local residents commenced searching the elevated terrain that borders the Penha neighborhood from the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for relatives who were unaccounted for following the security action.

Community members from the Penha area arranged the located casualties in a square - the photographer's images display the reaction of those present.

"The harsh reality of what occurred shook me deeply: the pain of loved ones, mothers fainting, pregnant wives, sobbing, furious relatives," the photographer recalled.

The eyewitness

The governor of the state announced that the large-scale security action deploying about 2,500 security personnel was designed to halting an illegal organization referred to as Comando Vermelho from growing their influence.

Originally, local officials claimed that "60 suspects plus four law enforcement personnel" had been killed in the raid.

Officials subsequently stated that their "preliminary" count suggests that 117 individuals lost their lives.

Rio's public defender's office, that offers legal help to disadvantaged individuals, has put the final tally of people killed to be 132.

Based on expert analysis, the criminal organization stands as the sole illegal faction that recently has succeeded to make territorial gains in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

It is generally regarded one of the two largest gangs nationally, alongside First Capital Command, with a background spanning over five decades.

According to Brazilian journalist Rafael Soares, who has been covering criminal activity in the city extensively, the gang "functions as a network" with neighborhood bosses affiliating with the group and acting as "business partners".

The criminal group concentrates largely on drug trafficking, but also smuggles firearms, gold, energy resources, alcohol smoking products.

Per law enforcement statements, organization members have substantial firearms and authorities stated that while the action was underway, they encountered resistance via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The official of the state, Cláudio Castro, characterized Red Command members as drug terrorists and called the four police officers killed in the raid as courageous individuals.

Nevertheless, the total of casualties during the raid has come in for criticism from UN human rights officials saying it was "shocked".

In a media appearance on Wednesday, the state leader defended the police force.

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

He further explained that the situation had escalated because the suspects had retaliated: "It occurred of the counterattack they implemented and the excessive violence from the gang members."

The official additionally stated that the victims presented by community members in Penha had been "manipulated".

Via a statement through digital channels, he claimed that some of them had been taken of tactical gear that he stated they possessed "to redirect responsibility to security forces".

A police official from the police department additionally stated that military attire, vests, and weapons" were taken away from the victims and showed footage apparently demonstrating a man stripping military attire {off a corpse