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Bruno Itan

A reporter who witnessed the aftermath of a large-scale security raid in Rio de Janeiro has recounted how local people brought back mutilated bodies of people who lost their lives.

The casualties "kept coming: the numbers kept rising", the photographer stated. Among them were security forces.

One of the bodies was found without a head - while others appeared "totally disfigured", he said. Numerous victims displayed evidence of stab wounds.

In excess of 120 victims were killed during the security action targeting an illegal organization - the most lethal operation in the city.

The eyewitness stated that residents first notified him to the raid early on Tuesday by community members of the Alemão neighbourhood, who sent him messages informing him there was a shoot-out.

The photographer traveled to the healthcare center, where the bodies were being brought.

The photographer stated that the police prevented journalists from accessing the affected area, where the security measures were occurring.

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

But Itan, who grew up in the area, explained he managed to make his way into the cordoned-off area, where he stayed until the next morning.

He explained that evening, area inhabitants commenced searching the elevated terrain that separates Penha from the adjacent Alemão area for loved ones who were unaccounted for since the police raid.

Residents from the Penha area organized the recovered bodies in a square - the documented evidence show the reaction of the gathered crowd.

"The harsh reality of it all impacted me deeply: the sorrow of the families, parents losing consciousness, women carrying children, weeping, furious relatives," the eyewitness remembered.

The eyewitness

The governor of Rio state announced that the large-scale security action involving around 2,500 officers was aimed at halting a criminal group called Comando Vermelho from increasing their control.

At first, the Rio state government stated that "60 suspects plus four law enforcement personnel" were fatally injured in the operation.

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

Rio's public defender's office, that offers legal help to the poor, has estimated the total number of people killed at 132.

According to researchers, the criminal organization is the only criminal group that recently has succeeded to increase its control across the region.

Experts commonly view one of the two largest gangs in Brazil, alongside another major gang, with a background spanning over five decades.

According to Brazilian journalist a specialist, who has been covering crime in Rio for years, the gang "works as a system" with neighborhood bosses joining the organization and acting as "business partners".

The gang engages primarily in illegal drug trade, but also smuggles guns, valuable minerals, petroleum products, alcohol and tobacco.

According to the authorities, gang members have substantial firearms and officials reported that during the raid, they encountered resistance from explosive-laden drones.

The governor of the region, the political leader, described Red Command members as drug terrorists and described the four police officers fatally injured in the action as brave public servants.

But the number of people killed in the security action has come in for criticism with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights stating they were "appalled".

In a media appearance the following day, the state leader defended the police force.

"It wasn't our intention to result in deaths. We wanted to detain everyone safely," he said.

He added that the events intensified because the suspects fought back: "It occurred of the resistance they carried out and the disproportionate use of force by the illegal group."

The governor also said that the casualties presented by community members in the neighborhood had been "manipulated".

Through a message on online platforms, he claimed that some of them had been removed of tactical gear which he claimed they wore "in order to shift blame toward law enforcement".

A police official of Rio's civil police force further reported that military attire, body armor, and weapons" had been removed from the casualties and displayed evidence appearing to show an individual stripping military attire {off a corpse