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The eyewitness

A photographer who documented the consequences of a massive Brazilian police operation in the metropolitan area has reported how local people brought back mutilated bodies of the deceased individuals.

The victims "continued arriving: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the eyewitness stated. The total contained those of police officers.

A particular victim was found without a head - additional victims were "completely mutilated", he explained. Numerous victims displayed what he described as knife injuries.

Over 120 individuals were killed in the Tuesday operation on a criminal gang - the most lethal operation the municipality has seen.

Bruno Itan reported that he was first alerted to the raid Tuesday morning by local people of the Alemão neighbourhood, who reached out alerting him an armed confrontation was occurring.

The eyewitness went to the healthcare center, where the victims were coming in.

Itan explained that the police prevented journalists from going into the Penha neighborhood, where the security measures were taking place.

"Law enforcement personnel created a barrier and declared: 'Journalists doesn't get past here'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who was raised in the community, reported he succeeded to make his way into the restricted zone, where he remained until the next morning.

He described that evening, local residents started looking the mountainous area that borders the Penha neighborhood from the adjacent Alemão area for family members who had been missing following the security action.

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

"The harsh reality of what occurred impacted me deeply: the pain of the families, women collapsing, pregnant wives, sobbing, furious relatives," the reporter recounted.

The photographer

The official of Rio state stated that the massive police operation involving around 2,500 law enforcement members was aimed at preventing a gang known as the criminal faction from expanding its territory.

Initially, the Rio state government maintained that "60 suspects plus four law enforcement personnel" were fatally injured during the action.

Authorities later reported that early calculations indicates that 117 "suspects" were fatally injured.

Rio's public defender's office, that gives legal support to low-income residents, has estimated the overall count of fatalities to be 132.

Based on expert analysis, Red Command is the only criminal group that recently has been able to increase its control in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

It is widely considered as a major illegal faction nationally, in company with First Capital Command, with a background extending half a century.

According to Brazilian journalist Rafael Soares, who has long reported on criminal activity in the city over many years, the criminal organization "operates like a franchise" with local criminal leaders joining the organization and acting as "commercial associates".

The organization concentrates largely on narcotics distribution, but also smuggles weapons, precious metals, fuel, liquor and tobacco.

According to the authorities, gang members possess significant weaponry and police said that throughout the operation, they came under attack via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The state leader of Rio state, Cláudio Castro, characterized organization participants as "narcoterrorists" and called the security forces killed in the raid as "heroes".

However, the count of casualties during the raid has received condemnation from international human rights authorities stating they were "appalled".

In a media appearance the next day, the official justified security actions.

"There was no objective to cause fatalities. We intended to arrest them all alive," he declared.

He added that the circumstances had escalated due to the alleged criminals resisted aggressively: "It occurred of the retaliation they executed and the overwhelming response by those criminals."

The governor also said that the victims shown by residents in the neighborhood had been "manipulated".

In a post on online platforms, he claimed that certain victims had been removed of tactical gear he said they had been wearing "to redirect responsibility toward law enforcement".

A police official of Rio's civil police force additionally stated that tactical gear, vests, and firearms" had been removed from the victims and presented video appearing to show an individual stripping military attire {off a corpse