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The eyewitness

An eyewitness who witnessed the consequences of an extensive Brazilian police operation in Rio de Janeiro has recounted how community members returned with disfigured remains of those who had died.

The victims "kept coming: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the eyewitness stated. They included those of police officers.

One individual had been decapitated - others were "completely mutilated", he reported. Several bodies showed what appeared to be blade trauma.

Over 120 individuals lost their lives during the security action targeting an illegal organization - the bloodiest action Rio has experienced.

Bruno Itan reported that he initially learned concerning the action early on Tuesday by residents from the Alemão area, who contacted him informing him an armed confrontation was occurring.

The eyewitness traveled to a local medical facility, where the victims were coming in.

The photographer stated that the police stopped members of the press from accessing the affected area, where the security measures were occurring.

"Law enforcement personnel created a barrier and announced: 'Journalists are not allowed to pass'."

However, the photographer, who was raised in the area, stated he was able to make his way into the cordoned-off area, where he continued until the next morning.

He explained that evening, area inhabitants began to search the mountainous area that borders the Penha neighborhood from the adjacent Alemão area for loved ones who had been missing since the police raid.

Local people from the Penha area organized the discovered victims in a square - the documented evidence display the reaction of the people there.

"The brutality of what occurred impacted me a lot: the sorrow of the families, women collapsing, pregnant wives, weeping, angry family members," the eyewitness remembered.

Bruno Itan

The governor of Rio state declared that the large-scale security action deploying about 2,500 law enforcement members was aimed at halting a gang known as Comando Vermelho from expanding its territory.

At first, local officials maintained that sixty individuals and four police officers" had been killed during the action.

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

Rio's public defender's office, that offers legal help to low-income residents, has estimated the overall count of casualties at 132.

According to researchers, Red Command stands as the sole illegal faction that recently has managed to expand its territory throughout Rio state.

Experts commonly view among the biggest criminal organizations nationally, together with First Capital Command, featuring a timeline spanning over five decades.

Based on reporter an expert, who has long reported on illegal operations in Rio over many years, the gang "functions as a network" with local criminal leaders affiliating with the group and serving as "business partners".

The gang engages primarily in drug trafficking, but also smuggles guns, precious metals, petroleum products, liquor and tobacco.

Per law enforcement statements, gang members possess significant weaponry and officials reported that while the action was underway, they came under attack via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The state leader of Rio state, the government representative, labeled organization participants as criminal extremists and referred to the law enforcement personnel who died during the operation as brave public servants.

Nevertheless, the total of casualties during the raid has received condemnation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights saying it was "appalled".

At a news conference on Wednesday, Governor Castro defended the police force.

"It wasn't our intention to result in deaths. We aimed to arrest them all alive," he stated.

He continued that the events intensified due to the alleged criminals had retaliated: "It was a consequence of the retaliation they executed and the excessive violence from the gang members."

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

Via a statement on social media, he said that certain victims had been stripped of military-style attire he said they had been wearing "to transfer accusation onto the police".

A law enforcement representative from the police department further reported that "camouflage clothing, body armor, and weapons" were taken away from the casualties and showed footage seemingly depicting a man stripping military attire {off a corpse