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The photographer

A photographer who documented the aftermath of a massive Brazilian police operation in the metropolitan area has recounted how community members returned with mutilated bodies of people who lost their lives.

The casualties "continued arriving: the numbers kept rising", the eyewitness reported. The total contained security forces.

A particular victim was found without a head - additional victims were "completely mutilated", he said. Numerous victims displayed what appeared to be stab wounds.

Over 120 individuals were killed during Tuesday's raid against a criminal group - the deadliest such raid Rio has experienced.

Bruno Itan stated that he was first alerted concerning the action Tuesday morning by community members living in Alemão, who contacted him telling him gunfire had erupted.

The reporter went to the Getúlio Vargas hospital, where the casualties were arriving.

Itan explained that the police prevented journalists from accessing the operation zone, where the security measures was under way.

"Police officers established a perimeter and announced: 'Media representatives doesn't get past here'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who grew up in that neighborhood, explained he was able to gain access past the security perimeter, where he remained until dawn.

He explained that Tuesday night, area inhabitants commenced searching the mountainous area that borders Penha from the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for relatives who were unaccounted for after the operation.

Local people of the Penha neighbourhood proceeded to place the located casualties in an open area - and Itan's photos reveal the reaction of the gathered crowd.

"The violence of it all affected me a lot: the pain of loved ones, women collapsing, expectant spouses, weeping, furious relatives," the eyewitness remembered.

The eyewitness

The governor of Rio state declared that the large-scale security action deploying about 2,500 law enforcement members was aimed at preventing an illegal organization called Comando Vermelho from expanding its territory.

At first, the Rio state government maintained that sixty alleged criminals plus four law enforcement personnel" had been killed in the raid.

Authorities later reported that initial estimates shows that 117 "suspects" were fatally injured.

Rio's public defender's office, that offers legal help to disadvantaged individuals, has calculated the final tally of fatalities at 132.

Per investigative findings, Red Command stands as the sole illegal faction which in recent years has succeeded to increase its control across the region.

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

Based on correspondent Rafael Soares, who has been covering illegal operations in Rio extensively, the criminal organization "functions as a network" with area gang leaders joining the organization and serving as "commercial associates".

The gang engages primarily in narcotics distribution, additionally trafficking guns, valuable minerals, petroleum products, alcohol cigarettes.

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

The governor of the region, the political leader, characterized Red Command members as criminal extremists and described the four police officers who died during the operation as courageous individuals.

Nevertheless, the total of fatalities in the operation has come in for criticism from UN human rights officials stating they were "horrified".

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

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

He added that the circumstances intensified due to the alleged criminals fought back: "It was a consequence of the retaliation they implemented and the excessive violence by the illegal group."

The state leader additionally stated that the victims displayed by locals in the neighborhood had been "tampered with".

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

A law enforcement representative from the police department additionally stated that military attire, vests, and firearms" were stripped from the bodies and displayed evidence appearing to show a man cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse