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The eyewitness

A reporter who documented the aftermath of a massive security raid in Rio de Janeiro has recounted how local people came back with mutilated bodies of those who had died.

The victims "kept coming: the numbers kept rising", the photographer described. The total contained those of police officers.

A particular victim was discovered headless - others were "severely damaged", he reported. Many also had what he described as stab wounds.

More than 120 people were fatally injured during the security action targeting an illegal organization - the deadliest such raid Rio has experienced.

The eyewitness stated that he initially learned to the raid in the early hours by community members living in Alemão, who reached out informing him gunfire had erupted.

The photographer went to the healthcare center, where the victims were arriving.

The photographer stated that the police blocked media personnel from accessing the operation zone, where the operation was under way.

"Police officers formed a line and said: 'Journalists cannot proceed beyond this point'."

However, the photographer, who was raised in the area, reported he was able to enter into the cordoned-off area, where he continued through the night.

He described that evening, local residents began to search the elevated terrain that borders Penha from the neighboring Alemão community for loved ones who were unaccounted for following the security action.

Residents of the Penha neighbourhood arranged the recovered bodies in an open area - the photographer's images show the response of the people there.

"The brutality of it all shook me profoundly: the sorrow of relatives, mothers fainting, women carrying children, crying, outraged parents," the reporter recounted.

Bruno Itan

The governor of Rio state stated that the massive police operation with approximately 2,500 law enforcement members was intended to stopping a gang known as Comando Vermelho from increasing their control.

At first, the Rio state government claimed that sixty alleged criminals and four police officers" were fatally injured in the operation.

Authorities later reported that their "preliminary" count indicates that 117 alleged criminals have been killed.

The legal assistance organization, that gives legal support to low-income residents, has estimated the total number of fatalities to be 132.

Per investigative findings, the gang is the only criminal group that recently has managed to expand its territory across the region.

Experts commonly view among the biggest criminal organizations in the country, in company with First Capital Command, featuring a timeline spanning over five decades.

Based on Brazilian journalist an expert, with extensive experience documenting illegal operations in Rio over many years, the criminal organization "works as a system" with neighborhood bosses forming part of the gang and serving as "business partners".

The criminal group engages primarily in illegal drug trade, but also smuggles firearms, gold, energy resources, beverages smoking products.

Per law enforcement statements, organization members have substantial firearms and police said that during the raid, they encountered resistance using drone-delivered explosives.

The governor of the region, the government representative, characterized organization participants as drug terrorists and described the four police officers killed in the raid as brave public servants.

But the number of people killed in the security action has come in for criticism from international human rights authorities saying it was "shocked".

During a press briefing the following day, the official supported law enforcement.

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

He continued that the circumstances had escalated because the suspects fought back: "It resulted of the retaliation they implemented and the disproportionate use of force from the gang members."

The state leader further reported that the victims presented by community members in the neighborhood had been "tampered with".

Via a statement on social media, he said that some of them had been taken of tactical gear that he stated they possessed "to transfer accusation to security forces".

A law enforcement representative representing security forces further reported that "camouflage clothing, body armor, and firearms" were stripped from the bodies and displayed evidence apparently demonstrating an individual removing tactical gear {off a corpse