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The eyewitness

A reporter who observed the consequences of a large-scale Brazilian police operation in the metropolitan area has reported how community members brought back badly injured victims of those who had died.

The victims "kept piling up: the numbers kept rising", the eyewitness reported. The total contained those of police officers.

A particular victim was found without a head - others were "completely mutilated", he explained. Several bodies showed what he described as stab wounds.

More than 120 people lost their lives in the Tuesday operation targeting an illegal organization - the most lethal operation the municipality has seen.

The eyewitness explained that he initially learned about the operation Tuesday morning by residents of the Alemão neighbourhood, who sent him messages informing him there was a shoot-out.

The photographer traveled to the Getúlio Vargas hospital, where the casualties were coming in.

Itan explained that the police stopped members of the press from accessing the Penha neighborhood, where the security measures was under way.

"Law enforcement personnel created a barrier and announced: 'The press doesn't get past here'."

However, the photographer, who grew up in the area, stated he was able to enter into the restricted zone, where he remained through the night.

He reported that evening, area inhabitants commenced searching the hillside that borders the community of Penha and the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for relatives whose whereabouts were unknown since the police raid.

Local people from the Penha area proceeded to place the recovered bodies in an open area - the photographer's images reveal the emotions of those present.

"The brutality of what occurred affected me profoundly: the pain of the families, parents losing consciousness, women carrying children, sobbing, furious relatives," the reporter recounted.

The photographer

The governor of the state declared that the massive police operation deploying about 2,500 security personnel was designed to halting an illegal organization known as the criminal faction from growing their influence.

At first, local officials stated that sixty individuals along with four officers" had been killed in the operation.

They have since said that early calculations suggests that 117 individuals lost their lives.

The legal assistance organization, that gives legal support to the poor, has estimated the total number of people killed at 132.

Based on expert analysis, Red Command is the only criminal group which in recent years has been able to expand its territory across the region.

It is generally regarded one of the two largest gangs in Brazil, alongside another major gang, featuring a timeline extending half a century.

Based on Brazilian journalist Rafael Soares, who has been covering illegal operations in Rio over many years, the gang "functions as a network" with local criminal leaders forming part of the gang and becoming "business partners".

The gang engages primarily in illegal drug trade, but also smuggles weapons, valuable minerals, energy resources, liquor and tobacco.

According to the authorities, gang members have substantial firearms and authorities stated that during the raid, they encountered resistance using drone-delivered explosives.

The official of the state, Cláudio Castro, described organization participants as "narcoterrorists" and called the law enforcement personnel fatally injured in the action as "heroes".

However, the count of people killed during the raid has faced scrutiny from UN human rights officials saying it was "horrified".

In a media appearance the next day, the official justified security actions.

"It wasn't our intention to cause fatalities. We aimed to take suspects into custody without harm," he said.

He continued that the circumstances worsened due to the alleged criminals fought back: "It occurred of the counterattack they implemented and the overwhelming response from the gang members."

The official additionally stated that the bodies presented by community members in the area had been "tampered with".

In a post on online platforms, he said that some of them had been stripped of tactical gear which he claimed they wore "in order to shift blame onto the police".

Felipe Curi representing security forces additionally stated that "camouflage clothing, body armor, and firearms" were taken away from the casualties and showed footage seemingly depicting an individual stripping military attire {off a corpse