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The eyewitness

A photographer who witnessed the results of an extensive Brazilian police operation in the metropolitan area has reported how local people brought back disfigured remains of people who lost their lives.

The bodies "continued arriving: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", Bruno Itan stated. Among them were law enforcement personnel.

A particular victim was discovered headless - while others appeared "completely mutilated", he said. Several bodies showed what appeared to be knife injuries.

Over 120 individuals lost their lives in the Tuesday operation targeting an illegal organization - the most lethal operation in the city.

The photographer stated that residents first notified him concerning the action in the early hours by local people of the Alemão neighbourhood, who reached out telling him an armed confrontation was occurring.

The eyewitness went to the Getúlio Vargas hospital, where the victims were being brought.

The eyewitness reported that the police stopped members of the press from entering the affected area, where the police action were occurring.

"Security forces established a perimeter and announced: 'The press cannot proceed beyond this point'."

However, the photographer, who was raised in the area, explained he managed to make his way into the restricted zone, where he remained until dawn.

He explained during the night, area inhabitants commenced searching the hillside that separates Penha from the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for family members who had been missing following the security action.

Local people living in Penha arranged the located casualties in a square - the documented evidence show the response of the people there.

"The harsh reality of what occurred impacted me deeply: the pain of relatives, parents losing consciousness, pregnant wives, weeping, furious relatives," the reporter recounted.

Bruno Itan

The state leader of Rio state announced that the extensive law enforcement effort involving around 2,500 officers was intended to halting an illegal organization referred to as Red Command from increasing their control.

At first, the Rio state government claimed that sixty individuals and four police officers" were fatally injured during the action.

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

The legal assistance organization, that gives legal support to the poor, has put the overall count of people killed as 132.

According to researchers, the criminal organization stands as the sole illegal faction that recently has succeeded to expand its territory in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

It is widely considered among the biggest criminal organizations in Brazil, together with First Capital Command, featuring a timeline extending half a century.

According to Brazilian journalist an expert, who has long reported on criminal activity in the city extensively, the gang "operates like a franchise" with neighborhood bosses joining the organization and acting as "business partners".

The criminal group engages primarily in narcotics distribution, additionally trafficking firearms, gold, fuel, liquor and tobacco.

Per law enforcement statements, organization members possess significant weaponry and officials reported that throughout the operation, they encountered resistance from explosive-laden drones.

The governor of the region, the government representative, labeled Red Command members as criminal extremists and referred to the law enforcement personnel who died during the operation as "heroes".

Nevertheless, the total of casualties in the operation has received condemnation from international human rights authorities stating they were "horrified".

In a media appearance on Wednesday, the state leader justified security actions.

"There was no objective to cause fatalities. We intended to detain everyone safely," he declared.

He added that the circumstances had escalated because the suspects had retaliated: "It resulted of the resistance they carried out and the disproportionate use of force by the illegal group."

The state leader also said that the bodies presented by community members in the neighborhood had been "tampered with".

Through a message through digital channels, he claimed that particular individuals had been stripped of military-style attire which he claimed they wore "in order to shift blame toward law enforcement".

A law enforcement representative representing security forces also said that "camouflage clothing, vests, and weapons" had been removed from the victims and showed footage appearing to show an individual stripping military attire {off a corpse