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Bruno Itan

An eyewitness who witnessed the consequences of a large-scale law enforcement action in the metropolitan area has recounted how local people returned with mutilated bodies of those who had died.

The victims "continued arriving: the count kept increasing", the eyewitness reported. They included security forces.

A particular victim was discovered headless - others were "severely damaged", he explained. Several bodies showed evidence of knife injuries.

Over 120 individuals were killed during the security action on a criminal gang - the most lethal operation Rio has experienced.

The eyewitness stated that residents first notified him about the operation early on Tuesday by local people from the Alemão area, who reached out alerting him gunfire had erupted.

The reporter went to a local medical facility, where the bodies were coming in.

Itan explained that law enforcement prevented journalists from entering the Penha neighborhood, where the operation were occurring.

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

However, the photographer, who spent his childhood in that neighborhood, stated he managed to gain access into the cordoned-off area, where he remained until the next morning.

He described that Tuesday night, local residents started looking the elevated terrain that separates the community of Penha and the neighboring Alemão community for loved ones whose whereabouts were unknown following the security action.

Residents of the Penha neighbourhood arranged the recovered bodies in a square - the documented evidence show the response of the gathered crowd.

"The harsh reality of the situation impacted me profoundly: the pain of the families, parents losing consciousness, pregnant wives, weeping, outraged parents," the eyewitness remembered.

Bruno Itan

The governor of the state announced that the massive police operation with approximately 2,500 security personnel was intended to halting an illegal organization known as Comando Vermelho from growing their influence.

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

Officials subsequently stated that their "preliminary" count indicates that 117 individuals lost their lives.

The legal assistance organization, that gives legal support to low-income residents, has estimated the overall count of casualties to be 132.

Based on expert analysis, the gang stands as the sole illegal faction that recently has managed to expand its territory in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

It is generally regarded among the biggest criminal organizations in the country, alongside another major gang, featuring a timeline dating back more than 50 years.

Based on correspondent a specialist, who has long reported on criminal activity in the city over many years, Red Command "functions as a network" with neighborhood bosses affiliating with the group and becoming "operational allies".

The gang engages primarily in narcotics distribution, but also smuggles weapons, precious metals, petroleum products, beverages cigarettes.

According to the authorities, organization members are well armed and police said that during the raid, they came under attack using drone-delivered explosives.

The governor of Rio state, the government representative, characterized organization participants as criminal extremists and called the law enforcement personnel killed in the raid as "heroes".

Nevertheless, the total of people killed during the raid has received condemnation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights expressing they felt "appalled".

At a news conference the next day, Governor Castro defended the police force.

"It wasn't our intention to result in deaths. We intended to arrest them all alive," he stated.

He further explained that the circumstances worsened as the individuals had retaliated: "It occurred of the resistance they implemented and the excessive violence by those criminals."

The governor further reported that the bodies shown by residents in the neighborhood were "altered".

Through a message on online platforms, he claimed that particular individuals had been removed of tactical gear that he stated they possessed "to transfer accusation to security forces".

A police official of Rio's civil police force additionally stated that military attire, body armor, and weapons" were stripped from the bodies and showed footage apparently demonstrating a person cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse