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The eyewitness

A reporter who documented the aftermath of a massive Brazilian police operation in Rio de Janeiro has described how community members brought back badly injured victims of people who lost their lives.

The victims "continued arriving: the count kept increasing", Bruno Itan stated. Among them were security forces.

One of the bodies had been decapitated - others were "completely mutilated", he reported. Several bodies showed evidence of knife injuries.

Over 120 individuals were killed in the Tuesday operation on a criminal gang - the deadliest such raid Rio has experienced.

The photographer stated that he initially learned about the operation Tuesday morning by local people of the Alemão neighbourhood, who reached out telling him an armed confrontation was occurring.

The photographer traveled to the Getúlio Vargas hospital, where the casualties were being brought.

Itan explained that the police stopped members of the press from going into the affected area, where the operation were occurring.

"Law enforcement personnel established a perimeter and said: 'Media representatives cannot proceed beyond this point'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who was raised in the community, explained he succeeded to make his way into the restricted zone, where he stayed until the next morning.

He explained during the night, area inhabitants commenced searching the mountainous area which divides Penha from the neighboring Alemão community for loved ones who were unaccounted for after the operation.

Local people living in Penha organized the recovered bodies in a public space - the documented evidence show the emotions of the gathered crowd.

"The violence of the situation impacted me deeply: the grief of loved ones, mothers fainting, pregnant wives, sobbing, outraged parents," the eyewitness remembered.

Bruno Itan

The official of Rio state declared that the extensive law enforcement effort deploying about 2,500 law enforcement members was aimed at preventing a criminal group known as Red Command from increasing their control.

At first, state authorities maintained that "60 suspects and four police officers" lost their lives in the operation.

They have since said that initial estimates indicates that 117 individuals were fatally injured.

Rio's public defender's office, that gives legal support to disadvantaged individuals, has put the final tally of fatalities at 132.

Based on expert analysis, the criminal organization is the only criminal group which in recent years has been able to expand its territory across the region.

It is widely considered among the biggest criminal organizations nationally, alongside First Capital Command, with a background dating back more than 50 years.

According to reporter an expert, who has long reported on crime in Rio extensively, the gang "works as a system" with local criminal leaders forming part of the gang and becoming "operational allies".

The gang concentrates largely on illegal drug trade, while also dealing in firearms, gold, petroleum products, liquor and tobacco.

According to the authorities, gang members are well armed and police said that during the raid, they came under attack from explosive-laden drones.

The official of the region, the government representative, labeled organization participants as "narcoterrorists" and referred to the security forces killed in the raid as brave public servants.

But the number of people killed in the security action has come in for criticism from international human rights authorities saying it was "shocked".

During a press briefing on Wednesday, the official supported law enforcement.

"It wasn't our intention to kill anyone. We aimed to arrest them all alive," he declared.

He continued that the circumstances worsened because the suspects fought back: "It occurred of the counterattack they carried out and the excessive violence by the illegal group."

The official further reported that the casualties shown by residents in the area were "altered".

In a post on online platforms, he claimed that some of them had been stripped of military-style attire he said they had been wearing "to redirect responsibility to security forces".

A police official from the police department further reported that military attire, protective equipment, and firearms" had been removed from the victims and showed footage seemingly depicting an individual removing tactical gear {off a corpse