The casualties continued piling up - photographer recounts fatal Rio law enforcement operation

The photographer

An eyewitness who documented the consequences of an extensive Brazilian police operation in the metropolitan area has described how local people returned with disfigured remains of those who had died.

The bodies "continued arriving: the count kept increasing", the photographer reported. They included law enforcement personnel.

One of the bodies had been decapitated - others were "severely damaged", he said. Several bodies showed what appeared to be knife injuries.

In excess of 120 victims were killed during the security action against a criminal group - the bloodiest action the municipality has seen.

Bruno Itan stated that he initially learned about the operation Tuesday morning by local people of the Alemão neighbourhood, who contacted him telling him gunfire had erupted.

The eyewitness traveled to the healthcare center, where the casualties were being brought.

Itan explained that the police prevented journalists from entering the operation zone, where the security measures were taking place.

"Law enforcement personnel established a perimeter and said: 'Journalists are not allowed to pass'."

But Itan, who was raised in the community, explained he succeeded to gain access into the restricted zone, where he continued until dawn.

He described that Tuesday night, community members commenced searching the elevated terrain that separates Penha from the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for family members who were unaccounted for since the police raid.

Community members from the Penha area arranged the located casualties in an open area - the documented evidence show the emotions of those present.

"The brutality of what occurred shook me profoundly: the pain of the families, mothers fainting, pregnant wives, weeping, furious relatives," the reporter recounted.

The photographer

The official of the region declared that the large-scale security action involving around 2,500 law enforcement members was designed to halting a criminal group referred to as the criminal faction from increasing their control.

Originally, the Rio state government claimed that "60 suspects plus four law enforcement personnel" had been killed in the raid.

They have since said that initial estimates shows that 117 alleged criminals lost their lives.

The legal assistance organization, that offers legal help to the poor, has calculated the total number of fatalities at 132.

Per investigative findings, the gang represents the unique criminal entity that recently has managed to make territorial gains in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

It is generally regarded as a major illegal faction in Brazil, alongside First Capital Command, featuring a timeline extending half a century.

According to correspondent an expert, who has been covering criminal activity in the city for years, the criminal organization "operates like a franchise" with local criminal leaders joining the organization and becoming "business partners".

The organization engages primarily in narcotics distribution, additionally trafficking firearms, precious metals, energy resources, alcohol cigarettes.

Based on official reports, organization members are well armed and officials reported that throughout the operation, they encountered resistance using drone-delivered explosives.

The state leader of the state, the government representative, described Red Command members as "narcoterrorists" and described the security forces killed in the raid as "heroes".

Nevertheless, the total of casualties in the operation has received condemnation from UN human rights officials saying it was "horrified".

In a media appearance on Wednesday, the state leader supported law enforcement.

"We did not plan to kill anyone. We intended to arrest them all alive," he stated.

He continued that the situation had escalated as the individuals resisted aggressively: "It resulted of the retaliation they carried out and the overwhelming response from the gang members."

The state leader further reported that the bodies shown by residents in the neighborhood had been "manipulated".

Through a message on social media, he claimed that particular individuals had been taken of tactical gear he said they had been wearing "to transfer accusation toward law enforcement".

A law enforcement representative from the police department additionally stated that military attire, vests, and arms" were stripped from the bodies and displayed evidence seemingly depicting an individual stripping military attire {off a corpse