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The eyewitness

A reporter who documented the consequences of a massive law enforcement action in the metropolitan area has recounted how local people brought back badly injured victims of people who lost their lives.

The victims "continued arriving: the numbers kept rising", the photographer stated. The total contained those of police officers.

One individual was discovered headless - others were "completely mutilated", he reported. Many also had what he described as stab wounds.

More than 120 people were fatally injured in the Tuesday operation targeting an illegal organization - the bloodiest action Rio has experienced.

The eyewitness explained that residents first notified him to the raid in the early hours by local people of the Alemão neighbourhood, who sent him messages alerting him gunfire had erupted.

The eyewitness made his way to the Getúlio Vargas hospital, where the victims were coming in.

Itan explained that the police prevented journalists from entering the Penha neighborhood, where the security measures were occurring.

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

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who was raised in the community, explained he succeeded to gain access into the restricted zone, where he remained until the next morning.

He reported during the night, community members began to search the elevated terrain which divides the Penha neighborhood from the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for family members who had been missing after the operation.

Local people living in Penha proceeded to place the discovered victims in a square - the documented evidence reveal the emotions of the gathered crowd.

"The brutality of the situation shook me a lot: the pain of loved ones, women collapsing, pregnant wives, weeping, furious relatives," the reporter recounted.

The photographer

The governor of the state announced that the large-scale security action with approximately 2,500 law enforcement members was designed to stopping a criminal group referred to as Red Command from growing their influence.

Originally, state authorities claimed that sixty individuals plus four law enforcement personnel" had been killed in the raid.

They have since said that early calculations indicates that 117 alleged criminals lost their lives.

The public legal service, that offers legal help to disadvantaged individuals, has calculated the final tally of casualties at 132.

Per investigative findings, the criminal organization is the only criminal group that in the past few years has managed to increase its control in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

It is widely considered one of the two largest gangs in Brazil, in company with a rival criminal group, featuring a timeline spanning over five decades.

Per reporter a specialist, who has long reported on criminal activity in the city for years, the gang "works as a system" with neighborhood bosses forming part of the gang and acting as "commercial associates".

The gang concentrates largely on drug trafficking, but also smuggles weapons, valuable minerals, fuel, liquor and tobacco.

Based on official reports, criminal affiliates have substantial firearms and authorities stated that while the action was underway, they faced assaults via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The official of the state, the government representative, described organization participants as criminal extremists and referred to the law enforcement personnel killed in the raid as brave public servants.

Nevertheless, the total of casualties in the security action has faced scrutiny with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights saying it was "shocked".

During a press briefing on Wednesday, Governor Castro justified security actions.

"We did not plan to kill anyone. We intended to take suspects into custody without harm," he said.

He further explained that the situation had escalated because the suspects had retaliated: "It resulted of the retaliation they executed and the excessive violence from the gang members."

The official additionally stated that the victims shown by residents in Penha had been "tampered with".

Through a message on social media, he said that certain victims had been stripped of the camouflage clothing he said they had been wearing "in order to shift blame onto the police".

A law enforcement representative representing security forces also said that tactical gear, protective equipment, and arms" had been removed from the bodies and displayed evidence seemingly depicting an individual removing tactical gear {off a corpse