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The eyewitness

An eyewitness who documented the aftermath of a large-scale security raid in the metropolitan area has recounted how local people came back with badly injured victims of those who had died.

The victims "continued arriving: the numbers kept rising", Bruno Itan reported. They included security forces.

A particular victim was found without a head - while others appeared "severely damaged", he explained. Several bodies showed evidence of knife injuries.

Over 120 individuals lost their lives during Tuesday's raid targeting an illegal organization - the most lethal operation the municipality has seen.

The eyewitness stated that he was first alerted about the operation in the early hours by community members living in Alemão, who reached out telling him an armed confrontation was occurring.

The eyewitness traveled to a local medical facility, where the victims were arriving.

Itan explained that security forces stopped members of the press from accessing the operation zone, where the police action were taking place.

"Police officers formed a line and declared: 'The press cannot proceed beyond this point'."

But Itan, who spent his childhood in the community, explained he was able to gain access into the cordoned-off area, where he stayed until the next morning.

He explained that evening, local residents began to search the elevated terrain that borders Penha from the adjacent Alemão area for family members who were unaccounted for since the police raid.

Residents from the Penha area proceeded to place the discovered victims in a square - the documented evidence display the response of those present.

"The violence of the situation affected me profoundly: the sorrow of relatives, parents losing consciousness, expectant spouses, crying, outraged parents," the reporter recounted.

Bruno Itan

The official of the state stated that the extensive law enforcement effort deploying about 2,500 law enforcement members was aimed at preventing a gang referred to as Red Command from growing their influence.

Originally, local officials maintained that sixty individuals plus four law enforcement personnel" lost their lives in the operation.

Officials subsequently stated that their "preliminary" count shows that 117 "suspects" were fatally injured.

Rio's public defender's office, which provides legal assistance to low-income residents, has put the final tally of fatalities to be 132.

Based on expert analysis, the gang is the only criminal group that recently has succeeded to expand its territory in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

It is widely considered as a major illegal faction in Brazil, alongside a rival criminal group, featuring a timeline dating back more than 50 years.

Per Brazilian journalist a specialist, who has long reported on illegal operations in Rio over many years, the criminal organization "operates like a franchise" with neighborhood bosses joining the organization and acting as "operational allies".

The gang concentrates largely on drug trafficking, but also smuggles firearms, valuable minerals, fuel, alcohol cigarettes.

Per law enforcement statements, criminal affiliates have substantial firearms and officials reported that during the raid, they came under attack via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The official of Rio state, the political leader, labeled 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 from international human rights authorities saying it was "shocked".

At a news conference the following day, Governor Castro supported law enforcement.

"It wasn't our intention to kill anyone. We intended to detain everyone safely," he declared.

He continued that the situation worsened as the individuals fought back: "It resulted of the retaliation they carried out and the excessive violence by those criminals."

The governor additionally stated that the bodies displayed by locals in the neighborhood had been "tampered with".

Via a statement on online platforms, he said that certain victims had been removed of the camouflage clothing that he stated they possessed "to redirect responsibility toward law enforcement".

A law enforcement representative from the police department additionally stated that tactical gear, protective equipment, and arms" were taken away from the bodies and showed footage appearing to show an individual removing tactical gear {off a corpse