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Bruno Itan

A photographer who witnessed the aftermath of a massive law enforcement action in Rio de Janeiro has described how local people returned with badly injured victims of people who lost their lives.

The victims "continued arriving: the numbers kept rising", the eyewitness reported. The total contained security forces.

One individual was discovered headless - additional victims were "severely damaged", he reported. Numerous victims displayed evidence of stab wounds.

Over 120 individuals were killed during the security action targeting an illegal organization - the most lethal operation Rio has experienced.

Bruno Itan explained that he initially learned about the operation Tuesday morning by community members of the Alemão neighbourhood, who contacted him alerting him there was a shoot-out.

The eyewitness went to a local medical facility, where the bodies were coming in.

The photographer stated that law enforcement stopped members of the press from accessing the Penha neighborhood, where the security measures was under way.

"Security forces established a perimeter and said: 'Journalists cannot proceed beyond this point'."

But Itan, who grew up in the community, explained he managed to gain access past the security perimeter, where he remained until the next morning.

He reported that Tuesday night, local residents began to search the elevated terrain which divides the community of Penha and the adjacent Alemão area for family members who had been missing after the operation.

Community members from the Penha area proceeded to place the located casualties in a square - the photographer's images display the reaction of the gathered crowd.

"The brutality of it all impacted me deeply: the sorrow of the families, mothers fainting, pregnant wives, sobbing, angry family members," the eyewitness remembered.

The eyewitness

The governor of the region declared that the massive police operation with approximately 2,500 officers was designed to halting a criminal group called Red Command from expanding its territory.

At first, local officials maintained that sixty individuals 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 legal assistance organization, that offers legal help to low-income residents, has estimated the total number of casualties at 132.

According to researchers, the gang stands as the sole illegal faction which in recent years has managed to increase its control throughout Rio state.

It is generally regarded among the biggest criminal organizations nationally, in company with a rival criminal group, featuring a timeline dating back more than 50 years.

According to reporter an expert, who has been covering crime in Rio over many years, the criminal organization "operates like a franchise" with local criminal leaders affiliating with the group and becoming "business partners".

The organization concentrates largely on illegal drug trade, while also dealing in firearms, valuable minerals, petroleum products, liquor cigarettes.

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

The state leader of Rio state, the political leader, labeled Red Command members as "narcoterrorists" and described the law enforcement personnel who died during the operation as "heroes".

However, the count of casualties in the security action has come in for criticism from international human rights authorities stating they were "shocked".

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

"We did not plan to cause fatalities. We aimed to arrest them all alive," he stated.

He further explained that the situation intensified due to the alleged criminals had retaliated: "It was a consequence of the resistance they carried out and the overwhelming response by those criminals."

The state leader further reported that the victims shown by residents in Penha had been "tampered with".

In a post on online platforms, he asserted that certain victims had been stripped of tactical gear which he claimed they wore "to redirect responsibility to security forces".

Felipe Curi representing security forces additionally stated that tactical gear, body armor, and arms" had been removed from the bodies and presented video apparently demonstrating a person stripping military attire {off a corpse