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The eyewitness

An eyewitness who witnessed the aftermath of a large-scale law enforcement action in the metropolitan area has reported how local people returned with badly injured victims of those who had died.

The bodies "continued arriving: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", Bruno Itan stated. The total contained those of police officers.

One individual had been decapitated - additional victims were "severely damaged", he explained. Several bodies showed what he described as blade trauma.

Over 120 individuals lost their lives during the security action on a criminal gang - the most lethal operation in the city.

Bruno Itan explained that residents first notified him about the operation early on Tuesday by community members of the Alemão neighbourhood, who sent him messages alerting him there was a shoot-out.

The photographer made his way to a local medical facility, where the victims were being brought.

Itan explained that the police prevented journalists from going into the operation zone, where the police action was under way.

"Law enforcement personnel established a perimeter and declared: 'Media representatives cannot proceed beyond this point'."

However, the photographer, who grew up in that neighborhood, reported he was able to gain access into the restricted zone, where he continued through the night.

He reported that evening, local residents commenced searching the hillside that separates Penha from the neighboring Alemão community for family members whose whereabouts were unknown since the police raid.

Local people living in Penha arranged the recovered bodies in a public space - the photographer's images reveal the reaction of the people there.

"The violence of what occurred shook me profoundly: the sorrow of relatives, mothers fainting, pregnant wives, weeping, angry family members," the reporter recounted.

Bruno Itan

The governor of Rio state stated that the large-scale security action with approximately 2,500 officers was intended to preventing an illegal organization known as Comando Vermelho from growing their influence.

At first, the Rio state government maintained that "60 suspects along with four officers" had been killed during the action.

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

Rio's public defender's office, that gives legal support to the poor, has put the final tally of people killed as 132.

Based on expert analysis, the criminal organization represents the unique criminal entity which in recent years has been able to increase its control across the region.

Experts commonly view one of the two largest gangs in Brazil, together with First Capital Command, and has a history spanning over five decades.

According to reporter a specialist, who has long reported on criminal activity in the city over many years, Red Command "functions as a network" with local criminal leaders joining the organization and acting as "operational allies".

The organization focuses mainly on drug trafficking, but also smuggles weapons, valuable minerals, petroleum products, beverages cigarettes.

According to the authorities, gang members have substantial firearms and police said that throughout the operation, they faced assaults using drone-delivered explosives.

The governor of Rio state, Cláudio Castro, labeled Red Command members as drug terrorists and called the law enforcement personnel who died during the operation as brave public servants.

Nevertheless, the total of fatalities during the raid has come in for criticism from UN human rights officials saying it was "appalled".

During a press briefing the following day, Governor Castro defended the police force.

"There was no objective to kill anyone. We wanted to arrest them all alive," he said.

He further explained that the situation had escalated as the individuals resisted aggressively: "It occurred of the retaliation they carried out and the disproportionate use of force from the gang members."

The governor also said that the victims shown by residents in the area were "altered".

Via a statement on social media, he claimed that some of them had been removed of tactical gear which he claimed they wore "to redirect responsibility toward law enforcement".

A law enforcement representative of Rio's civil police force additionally stated that "camouflage clothing, vests, and firearms" were taken away from the bodies and presented video appearing to show a person stripping military attire {off a corpse