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Bruno Itan

A reporter who documented the consequences of a massive Brazilian police operation in Rio de Janeiro has recounted how community members brought back disfigured remains of people who lost their lives.

The bodies "kept piling up: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the photographer reported. The total contained law enforcement personnel.

One of the bodies was found without a head - while others appeared "completely mutilated", he reported. Numerous victims displayed what appeared to be blade trauma.

More than 120 people lost their lives during Tuesday's raid against a criminal group - the deadliest such raid the municipality has seen.

Bruno Itan stated that he initially learned about the operation Tuesday morning by local people of the Alemão neighbourhood, who reached out telling him an armed confrontation was occurring.

The reporter traveled to a local medical facility, where the bodies were arriving.

The eyewitness reported that security forces blocked media personnel from going into the operation zone, where the security measures were taking place.

"Security forces established a perimeter and announced: 'The press are not allowed to pass'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who grew up in the area, reported he succeeded to make his way past the security perimeter, where he stayed until dawn.

He described during the night, local residents commenced searching the hillside that separates the community of Penha and the adjacent Alemão area for family members whose whereabouts were unknown following the security action.

Residents living in Penha proceeded to place the recovered bodies in a public space - the photographer's images show the emotions of the people there.

"The brutality of it all impacted me deeply: the sorrow of relatives, women collapsing, expectant spouses, sobbing, angry family members," the reporter recounted.

The photographer

The governor of the region stated that the extensive law enforcement effort with approximately 2,500 officers was designed to halting an illegal organization known as Red Command from expanding its territory.

At first, state authorities claimed that "60 suspects along with four officers" lost their lives in the operation.

They have since said that their "preliminary" count shows that 117 "suspects" have been killed.

The legal assistance organization, which provides legal assistance to low-income residents, has calculated the overall count of people killed as 132.

Per investigative findings, Red Command stands as the sole illegal faction that recently has been able to make territorial gains in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

Experts commonly view one of the two largest gangs nationally, alongside another major gang, with a background spanning over five decades.

Based on correspondent an expert, who has been covering crime in Rio for years, Red Command "operates like a franchise" with local criminal leaders affiliating with the group and serving as "commercial associates".

The gang focuses mainly on illegal drug trade, but also smuggles firearms, gold, energy resources, beverages smoking products.

Based on official reports, organization members are well armed and authorities stated that while the action was underway, they came under attack using drone-delivered explosives.

The official of the region, the political leader, characterized Red Command members as drug terrorists and referred to the security forces who died during the operation as brave public servants.

But the number of people killed in the operation has faced scrutiny from international human rights authorities saying it was "appalled".

During a press briefing the following day, the state leader justified security actions.

"We did not plan to result in deaths. We wanted to detain everyone safely," he said.

He continued that the situation intensified because the suspects resisted aggressively: "It was a consequence of the counterattack they carried out and the overwhelming response by the illegal group."

The official also said that the bodies shown by residents in the neighborhood were "altered".

In a post through digital channels, he said that certain victims had been taken of military-style attire which he claimed they wore "in order to shift blame toward law enforcement".

Felipe Curi from the police department further reported that "camouflage clothing, protective equipment, and weapons" had been removed from the bodies and presented video appearing to show a man removing tactical gear {off a corpse