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Bruno Itan

A reporter who observed the results of a massive Brazilian police operation in Rio de Janeiro has reported how local people returned with disfigured remains of people who lost their lives.

The victims "kept piling up: the count kept increasing", the eyewitness reported. They included those of police officers.

A particular victim was found without a head - additional victims were "severely damaged", he explained. Many also had what he described as knife injuries.

In excess of 120 victims were fatally injured during the security action on a criminal gang - the bloodiest action Rio has experienced.

The photographer explained that residents first notified him about the operation Tuesday morning by local people of the Alemão neighbourhood, who sent him messages telling him there was a shoot-out.

The eyewitness went to a local medical facility, where the casualties were arriving.

The photographer stated that security forces stopped members of the press from entering the Penha neighborhood, where the police action were taking place.

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

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who spent his childhood in the area, explained he managed to gain access into the restricted zone, where he stayed until dawn.

He explained that Tuesday night, area inhabitants began to search the elevated terrain that borders Penha from the adjacent Alemão area for loved ones who were unaccounted for after the operation.

Local people from the Penha area arranged the located casualties in a public space - and Itan's photos display the reaction of those present.

"The violence of the situation affected me profoundly: the grief of relatives, mothers fainting, expectant spouses, sobbing, furious relatives," the reporter recounted.

The photographer

The official of the state stated that the extensive law enforcement effort with approximately 2,500 officers was aimed at halting an illegal organization referred to as the criminal faction from increasing their control.

Initially, the Rio state government maintained that sixty alleged criminals plus four law enforcement personnel" lost their lives during the action.

Officials subsequently stated that early calculations suggests that 117 "suspects" lost their lives.

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

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

It is generally regarded among the biggest criminal organizations in the country, together with a rival criminal group, featuring a timeline extending half a century.

Based on reporter an expert, who has long reported on crime in Rio over many years, the criminal organization "operates like a franchise" with local criminal leaders affiliating with the group and becoming "operational allies".

The organization concentrates largely on drug trafficking, while also dealing in weapons, valuable minerals, petroleum products, liquor and tobacco.

Based on official reports, gang members possess significant weaponry and police said that throughout the operation, they encountered resistance via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The official of the region, Cláudio Castro, labeled gang affiliates as drug terrorists and called the security forces who died during the operation as brave public servants.

However, the count of casualties in the operation has faced scrutiny with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights saying it was "horrified".

During a press briefing on Wednesday, Governor Castro defended the police force.

"It wasn't our intention to cause fatalities. We wanted to detain everyone safely," he said.

He added that the events intensified due to the alleged criminals fought back: "It occurred of the counterattack they carried out and the disproportionate use of force by those criminals."

The official also said that the victims displayed by locals in Penha were "altered".

Via a statement through digital channels, he asserted that certain victims had been removed of tactical gear he said they had been wearing "to transfer accusation toward law enforcement".

A police official representing security forces also said that "camouflage clothing, protective equipment, and firearms" had been removed from the casualties and displayed evidence apparently demonstrating a person cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse