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Bruno Itan

An eyewitness who witnessed the consequences of a massive Brazilian police operation in Rio de Janeiro has reported how local people came back with disfigured remains of the deceased individuals.

The victims "kept coming: the count kept increasing", the eyewitness described. Among them were law enforcement personnel.

One of the bodies was discovered headless - additional victims were "completely mutilated", he reported. Numerous victims displayed evidence of knife injuries.

Over 120 individuals were killed during the security action against a criminal group - the bloodiest action Rio has experienced.

The eyewitness stated that he was first alerted concerning the action in the early hours by residents living in Alemão, who sent him messages alerting him gunfire had erupted.

The reporter went to the healthcare center, where the victims were arriving.

The photographer stated that law enforcement prevented journalists from going into the operation zone, where the police action were taking place.

"Law enforcement personnel formed a line and said: 'Journalists cannot proceed beyond this point'."

However, the photographer, who spent his childhood in the area, explained he succeeded to enter past the security perimeter, where he remained until the next morning.

He described that evening, community members began to search the mountainous area that borders the Penha neighborhood from the adjacent Alemão area for loved ones who were unaccounted for following the security action.

Community members living in Penha arranged the located casualties in an open area - the photographer's images display the reaction of the gathered crowd.

"The brutality of it all shook me a lot: the sorrow of relatives, parents losing consciousness, women carrying children, sobbing, furious relatives," the photographer recalled.

The eyewitness

The governor of the region declared that the large-scale security action involving around 2,500 law enforcement members was aimed at halting a gang known as Red Command from increasing their control.

Originally, local officials claimed that sixty alleged criminals plus four law enforcement personnel" had been killed during the action.

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

The public legal service, that gives legal support to the poor, has estimated the overall count of fatalities as 132.

Per investigative findings, Red Command represents the unique criminal entity that recently has managed to expand its territory in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

It is widely considered as a major illegal faction nationally, alongside a rival criminal group, featuring a timeline spanning over five decades.

Per correspondent Rafael Soares, with extensive experience documenting criminal activity in the city extensively, Red Command "operates like a franchise" with local criminal leaders joining the organization and becoming "business partners".

The criminal group focuses mainly on drug trafficking, additionally trafficking weapons, gold, fuel, alcohol cigarettes.

According to the authorities, gang members possess significant weaponry and police said that while the action was underway, they encountered resistance from explosive-laden drones.

The governor of Rio state, the political leader, labeled Red Command members as criminal extremists and described the security forces who died during the operation as brave public servants.

But the number of fatalities during the raid has faced scrutiny from international human rights authorities expressing they felt "appalled".

At a news conference the following day, the state leader defended the police force.

"We did not plan to kill anyone. We aimed to arrest them all alive," he said.

He added that the events had escalated because the suspects had retaliated: "It was a consequence of the counterattack they carried out and the overwhelming response by those criminals."

The official further reported that the casualties presented by community members in Penha were "altered".

In a post on social media, he said that some of them had been removed of military-style attire which he claimed they wore "to transfer accusation to security forces".

A law enforcement representative of Rio's civil police force further reported that "camouflage clothing, vests, and weapons" were stripped from the casualties and showed footage appearing to show an individual removing tactical gear {off a corpse