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Bruno Itan

A photographer who witnessed the aftermath of a massive law enforcement action in the metropolitan area has described how local people returned with disfigured remains of the deceased individuals.

The casualties "kept coming: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the photographer described. The total contained law enforcement personnel.

One individual was discovered headless - additional victims were "completely mutilated", he said. Several bodies showed what he described as stab wounds.

Over 120 individuals were fatally injured during the security action against a criminal group - the deadliest such raid the municipality has seen.

Bruno Itan reported that residents first notified him about the operation early on Tuesday by residents living in Alemão, who sent him messages alerting him an armed confrontation was occurring.

The eyewitness went to a local medical facility, where the victims were arriving.

Itan explained that security forces prevented journalists from entering the Penha neighborhood, where the security measures were occurring.

"Security forces formed a line and said: 'Media representatives cannot proceed beyond this point'."

But Itan, who grew up in the community, explained he managed to enter into the restricted zone, where he stayed through the night.

He reported during the night, local residents commenced searching the mountainous area that borders Penha from the adjacent Alemão area for family members who had been missing following the security action.

Community members from the Penha area organized the recovered bodies in a public space - and Itan's photos reveal the response of the gathered crowd.

"The harsh reality of the situation impacted me a lot: the grief of relatives, parents losing consciousness, expectant spouses, crying, angry family members," the photographer recalled.

The eyewitness

The official of the state stated that the large-scale security action deploying about 2,500 law enforcement members was aimed at stopping a gang called Red Command from expanding its territory.

At first, local officials claimed that sixty individuals along with four officers" were fatally injured in the raid.

They have since said that initial estimates suggests that 117 "suspects" lost their lives.

The public legal service, that offers legal help to the poor, has put the total number of people killed to be 132.

Per investigative findings, the criminal organization is the only criminal group that recently has succeeded to make territorial gains in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

It is generally regarded among the biggest criminal organizations nationally, alongside another major gang, with a background dating back more than 50 years.

Per reporter Rafael Soares, with extensive experience documenting criminal activity in the city for years, the criminal organization "operates like a franchise" with neighborhood bosses affiliating with the group and acting as "operational allies".

The gang engages primarily in illegal drug trade, additionally trafficking guns, gold, energy resources, alcohol cigarettes.

Per law enforcement statements, criminal affiliates are well armed and authorities stated that during the raid, they encountered resistance from explosive-laden drones.

The governor of the region, the political leader, characterized Red Command members as criminal extremists and described the four police officers killed in the raid as courageous individuals.

Nevertheless, the total of fatalities in the operation has faced scrutiny from UN human rights officials stating they were "shocked".

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

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

He added that the events worsened due to the alleged criminals had retaliated: "It occurred of the counterattack they implemented and the overwhelming response by those criminals."

The official also said that the casualties displayed by locals in the neighborhood had been "manipulated".

Through a message on social media, he said that some of them had been stripped of the camouflage clothing he said they had been wearing "in order to shift blame onto the police".

Felipe Curi representing security forces additionally stated that "camouflage clothing, vests, and arms" were stripped from the victims and presented video seemingly depicting a person removing tactical gear {off a corpse