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Bruno Itan

An eyewitness who witnessed the results of a massive law enforcement action in the metropolitan area has reported how residents came back with mutilated bodies of the deceased individuals.

The victims "continued arriving: the count kept increasing", the photographer reported. Among them were those of police officers.

A particular victim was found without a head - others were "completely mutilated", he said. Several bodies showed evidence of stab wounds.

Over 120 individuals were fatally injured during the security action on a criminal gang - the bloodiest action in the city.

The eyewitness reported that he was first alerted about the operation Tuesday morning by local people of the Alemão neighbourhood, who contacted him alerting him gunfire had erupted.

The photographer made his way to the Getúlio Vargas hospital, where the bodies were arriving.

The photographer stated that law enforcement stopped members of the press from going into the operation zone, where the security measures were occurring.

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

However, the photographer, who spent his childhood in that neighborhood, reported he was able to make his way past the security perimeter, where he remained until the next morning.

He reported that Tuesday night, community members commenced searching the hillside which divides Penha from the adjacent Alemão area for loved ones who had been missing since the police raid.

Residents of the Penha neighbourhood organized the located casualties in an open area - the photographer's images display the emotions of the gathered crowd.

"The violence of the situation shook me a lot: the grief of relatives, mothers fainting, women carrying children, weeping, angry family members," the eyewitness remembered.

Bruno Itan

The state leader of the region declared that the extensive law enforcement effort with approximately 2,500 officers was aimed at stopping a criminal group called Red Command from expanding its territory.

Initially, the Rio state government maintained that "60 suspects and four police officers" had been killed in the raid.

Officials subsequently stated that initial estimates suggests that 117 "suspects" have been killed.

Rio's public defender's office, that offers legal help to low-income residents, has put the total number of casualties to be 132.

Based on expert analysis, the gang stands as the sole illegal faction that recently has succeeded to increase its control across the region.

It is generally regarded among the biggest criminal organizations in Brazil, alongside a rival criminal group, and has a history dating back more than 50 years.

Based on reporter a specialist, with extensive experience documenting criminal activity in the city for years, Red Command "functions as a network" with local criminal leaders affiliating with the group and acting as "business partners".

The gang engages primarily in narcotics distribution, but also smuggles weapons, valuable minerals, petroleum products, beverages smoking products.

Per law enforcement statements, organization members have substantial firearms and officials reported that throughout the operation, they came under attack from explosive-laden drones.

The state leader of Rio state, Cláudio Castro, described gang affiliates as drug terrorists and referred to the four police officers killed in the raid as brave public servants.

Nevertheless, the total of fatalities in the operation has faced scrutiny from UN human rights officials expressing they felt "appalled".

At a news conference the following day, the official defended the police force.

"There was no objective to result in deaths. We wanted to detain everyone safely," he stated.

He added that the circumstances had escalated as the individuals resisted aggressively: "It resulted of the counterattack they executed and the overwhelming response from the gang members."

The governor also said that the bodies shown by residents in Penha had been "tampered with".

In a post through digital channels, he asserted that certain victims had been removed of the camouflage clothing which he claimed they wore "to transfer accusation toward law enforcement".

A police official from the police department further reported that military attire, body armor, and firearms" were taken away from the bodies and presented video appearing to show a person cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse