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The photographer

An eyewitness who witnessed the consequences of a massive law enforcement action in the Brazilian city has described how residents brought back disfigured remains of people who lost their lives.

The bodies "continued arriving: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the eyewitness reported. Among them were security forces.

One of the bodies was found without a head - additional victims were "completely mutilated", he reported. Numerous victims displayed what appeared to be stab wounds.

Over 120 individuals were killed during the security action targeting an illegal organization - the most lethal operation in the city.

The photographer explained that he initially learned about the operation Tuesday morning by community members of the Alemão neighbourhood, who reached out telling him gunfire had erupted.

The eyewitness traveled to the Getúlio Vargas hospital, where the victims were coming in.

Itan explained that security forces blocked media personnel from entering the affected area, where the police action were taking place.

"Security forces created a barrier and announced: 'Media representatives are not allowed to pass'."

However, the photographer, who grew up in the community, explained he managed to gain access into the cordoned-off area, where he remained until the next morning.

He described that Tuesday night, community members began to search the elevated terrain which divides the community of Penha and the neighboring Alemão community for relatives whose whereabouts were unknown after the operation.

Residents from the Penha area proceeded to place the discovered victims in an open area - and Itan's photos show the response of the gathered crowd.

"The brutality of it all shook me a lot: the sorrow of relatives, mothers fainting, expectant spouses, sobbing, furious relatives," the photographer recalled.

Bruno Itan

The governor of the region declared that the massive police operation involving around 2,500 officers was aimed at stopping a gang called Red Command from increasing their control.

Originally, the Rio state government claimed that "60 suspects and four police officers" were fatally injured in the operation.

Officials subsequently stated that early calculations indicates that 117 "suspects" have been killed.

The legal assistance organization, that offers legal help to low-income residents, has calculated the final tally of fatalities to be 132.

Based on expert analysis, Red Command stands as the sole illegal faction which in recent years has been able to increase its control throughout Rio state.

It is generally regarded among the biggest criminal organizations nationally, together with First Capital Command, featuring a timeline spanning over five decades.

Per reporter Rafael Soares, who has long reported on crime in Rio extensively, Red Command "works as a system" with neighborhood bosses affiliating with the group and becoming "commercial associates".

The gang focuses mainly on illegal drug trade, but also smuggles firearms, gold, energy resources, liquor and tobacco.

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

The official of the state, Cláudio Castro, characterized gang affiliates as criminal extremists and referred to the security forces fatally injured in the action as "heroes".

However, the count of fatalities during the raid has received condemnation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights expressing they felt "horrified".

During a press briefing on Wednesday, Governor Castro supported law enforcement.

"There was no objective to result in deaths. We wanted to detain everyone safely," he stated.

He continued that the circumstances worsened as the individuals resisted aggressively: "It resulted of the counterattack they carried out and the overwhelming response by the illegal group."

The governor also said that the victims displayed by locals in the area were "altered".

Via a statement on social media, he asserted that particular individuals had been removed of tactical gear he said they had been wearing "in order to shift blame toward law enforcement".

A police official representing security forces also said that "camouflage clothing, protective equipment, and firearms" were stripped from the bodies and presented video apparently demonstrating a person removing tactical gear {off a corpse