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Bruno Itan

An eyewitness who witnessed the consequences of a massive security raid in the Brazilian city has described how community members came back with mutilated bodies of people who lost their lives.

The bodies "continued arriving: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", Bruno Itan stated. They included security forces.

One of the bodies was discovered headless - while others appeared "totally disfigured", he said. Several bodies showed what appeared to be stab wounds.

In excess of 120 victims were fatally injured during the security action against a criminal group - the bloodiest action in the city.

The eyewitness reported that he was first alerted to the raid early on Tuesday by local people from the Alemão area, who contacted him alerting him there was a shoot-out.

The photographer went to the healthcare center, where the casualties were arriving.

The eyewitness reported that the police prevented journalists from accessing the affected area, where the operation were occurring.

"Law enforcement personnel formed a line and said: 'The press doesn't get past here'."

However, the photographer, who grew up in the area, stated he succeeded to gain access into the cordoned-off area, where he remained until dawn.

He explained that evening, local residents started looking the elevated terrain that separates Penha from the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for family members who had been missing after the operation.

Local people from the Penha area proceeded to place the discovered victims in a square - the photographer's images show the emotions of the gathered crowd.

"The brutality of what occurred impacted me a lot: the grief of loved ones, parents losing consciousness, women carrying children, weeping, furious relatives," the photographer recalled.

The eyewitness

The state leader of Rio state declared that the large-scale security action deploying about 2,500 law enforcement members was intended to halting a gang referred to as Red Command from growing their influence.

Originally, the Rio state government claimed that sixty individuals plus four law enforcement personnel" lost their lives in the raid.

Officials subsequently stated that initial estimates indicates that 117 "suspects" have been killed.

The public legal service, that offers legal help to the poor, has put the final tally of fatalities at 132.

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

It is generally regarded among the biggest criminal organizations in Brazil, alongside another major gang, featuring a timeline spanning over five decades.

Based on correspondent Rafael Soares, who has been covering illegal operations in Rio extensively, the gang "operates like a franchise" with area gang leaders joining the organization and acting as "commercial associates".

The organization concentrates largely on illegal drug trade, while also dealing in weapons, gold, energy resources, alcohol cigarettes.

Based on official reports, criminal affiliates possess significant weaponry and officials reported that throughout the operation, they came under attack from explosive-laden drones.

The governor of the state, the government representative, labeled organization participants as criminal extremists and described the security forces who died during the operation as courageous individuals.

However, the count of fatalities during the raid has faced scrutiny from international human rights authorities stating they were "shocked".

At a news conference the next day, the state leader justified security actions.

"We did not plan to result in deaths. We wanted to detain everyone safely," he said.

He further explained that the circumstances worsened because the suspects resisted aggressively: "It was a consequence of the resistance they implemented and the overwhelming response by the illegal group."

The official additionally stated that the casualties shown by residents in the area had been "manipulated".

Via a statement on online platforms, he asserted that certain victims had been stripped of tactical gear which he claimed they wore "to transfer accusation onto the police".

A police official from the police department further reported that military attire, body armor, and firearms" had been removed from the bodies and displayed evidence seemingly depicting a person cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse