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The eyewitness

An eyewitness who witnessed the aftermath of a large-scale security raid in Rio de Janeiro has reported how residents returned with mutilated bodies of people who lost their lives.

The victims "kept coming: the count kept increasing", the eyewitness stated. Among them were security forces.

One of the bodies was discovered headless - while others appeared "severely damaged", he explained. Numerous victims displayed what he described as stab wounds.

Over 120 individuals lost their lives in the Tuesday operation on a criminal gang - the most lethal operation the municipality has seen.

Bruno Itan explained that he initially learned concerning the action Tuesday morning by local people living in Alemão, who sent him messages informing him there was a shoot-out.

The reporter traveled to the Getúlio Vargas hospital, where the bodies were arriving.

Itan explained that security forces prevented journalists from entering the affected area, where the police action were taking place.

"Security forces established a perimeter and announced: 'The press doesn't get past here'."

But Itan, who spent his childhood in the community, reported he managed to gain access into the restricted zone, where he remained through the night.

He reported that evening, local residents commenced searching the elevated terrain that borders the community of Penha and the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for family members who had been missing following the security action.

Local people from the Penha area proceeded to place the located casualties in an open area - and Itan's photos reveal the response of those present.

"The harsh reality of what occurred shook me a lot: the grief of the families, mothers fainting, women carrying children, weeping, angry family members," the reporter recounted.

Bruno Itan

The official of the region declared that the extensive law enforcement effort involving around 2,500 security personnel was intended to stopping a gang called Comando Vermelho from growing their influence.

Initially, local officials maintained that sixty alleged criminals and four police officers" had been killed during the action.

They have since said that initial estimates shows that 117 alleged criminals were fatally injured.

The public legal service, that gives legal support to low-income residents, has estimated the total number of people killed as 132.

Per investigative findings, the gang is the only criminal group which in recent years has managed to make territorial gains throughout Rio state.

It is generally regarded as a major illegal faction nationally, alongside another major gang, and has a history spanning over five decades.

According to correspondent Rafael Soares, with extensive experience documenting crime in Rio extensively, the gang "functions as a network" with neighborhood bosses joining the organization and acting as "business partners".

The criminal group concentrates largely on illegal drug trade, while also dealing in guns, gold, energy resources, liquor cigarettes.

Based on official reports, organization members have substantial firearms and authorities stated that during the raid, they faced assaults from explosive-laden drones.

The official of the state, the government representative, characterized Red Command members as criminal extremists and called the four police officers killed in the raid as courageous individuals.

Nevertheless, the total of fatalities in the operation has come in for criticism from international human rights authorities expressing they felt "horrified".

In a media appearance the following day, the official justified security actions.

"It wasn't our intention to result in deaths. We wanted to take suspects into custody without harm," he said.

He continued that the events intensified as the individuals resisted aggressively: "It resulted of the resistance they implemented and the disproportionate use of force by those criminals."

The official additionally stated that the bodies presented by community members in Penha had been "tampered with".

In a post through digital channels, he claimed that certain victims had been removed of military-style attire which he claimed they wore "to transfer accusation to security forces".

A police official of Rio's civil police force further reported that tactical gear, protective equipment, and firearms" were stripped from the bodies and displayed evidence apparently demonstrating a man cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse