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Bruno Itan

A reporter who observed the consequences of an extensive law enforcement action in the metropolitan area has reported how community members brought back badly injured victims of those who had died.

The casualties "kept piling up: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", Bruno Itan reported. They included security forces.

A particular victim was found without a head - while others appeared "totally disfigured", he explained. Several bodies showed what he described as knife injuries.

Over 120 individuals lost their lives during Tuesday's raid against a criminal group - the most lethal operation the municipality has seen.

Bruno Itan stated that he was first alerted to the raid Tuesday morning by community members from the Alemão area, who reached out alerting him gunfire had erupted.

The reporter went to the Getúlio Vargas hospital, where the casualties were arriving.

The photographer stated that security forces prevented journalists from going into the affected area, where the police action were occurring.

"Security forces formed a line and declared: 'Media representatives cannot proceed beyond this point'."

However, the photographer, who spent his childhood in the community, explained he managed to enter past the security perimeter, where he continued until dawn.

He explained that evening, local residents began to search the elevated terrain that separates Penha from the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for relatives who were unaccounted for following the security action.

Community members living in Penha arranged the recovered bodies in a square - the photographer's images reveal the reaction of the people there.

"The harsh reality of what occurred affected me deeply: the sorrow of relatives, mothers fainting, pregnant wives, weeping, furious relatives," the photographer recalled.

Bruno Itan

The state leader of the region stated that the large-scale security action involving around 2,500 security personnel was intended to preventing a criminal group known as the criminal faction from growing their influence.

Initially, the Rio state government maintained that "60 suspects and four police officers" had been killed in the operation.

They have since said that initial estimates suggests that 117 individuals have been killed.

Rio's public defender's office, that offers legal help to disadvantaged individuals, has calculated the total number of casualties at 132.

Based on expert analysis, Red Command is the only criminal group that recently has succeeded to expand its territory throughout Rio state.

It is generally regarded among the biggest criminal organizations nationally, together with First Capital Command, with a background spanning over five decades.

According to correspondent Rafael Soares, with extensive experience documenting illegal operations in Rio extensively, Red Command "functions as a network" with local criminal leaders forming part of the gang and serving as "commercial associates".

The criminal group focuses mainly on illegal drug trade, additionally trafficking guns, gold, energy resources, alcohol smoking products.

According to the authorities, criminal affiliates are well armed and police said that while the action was underway, they came under attack using drone-delivered explosives.

The official of Rio state, Cláudio Castro, described gang affiliates as criminal extremists and referred to the security forces 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 "horrified".

At a news conference the next day, the official justified security actions.

"It wasn't our intention to cause fatalities. We intended to arrest them all alive," he stated.

He further explained that the situation had escalated due to the alleged criminals fought back: "It resulted of the resistance they executed and the disproportionate use of force by the illegal group."

The governor additionally stated that the victims shown by residents in Penha were "altered".

Through a message on social media, he said that some of them had been removed of military-style attire which he claimed they wore "to transfer accusation to security forces".

A police official of Rio's civil police force further reported that tactical gear, body armor, and firearms" had been removed from the casualties and showed footage apparently demonstrating a person stripping military attire {off a corpse