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The photographer

A reporter who observed the consequences of an extensive law enforcement action in the Brazilian city has described how residents brought back mutilated bodies of people who lost their lives.

The casualties "kept piling up: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the eyewitness stated. Among them were those of police officers.

A particular victim had been decapitated - additional victims were "severely damaged", he said. Numerous victims displayed evidence of knife injuries.

Over 120 individuals were killed in the Tuesday operation against a criminal group - the most lethal operation the municipality has seen.

Bruno Itan stated that he was first alerted about the operation in the early hours by residents living in Alemão, who contacted him informing him gunfire had erupted.

The reporter went to a local medical facility, where the casualties were arriving.

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

"Law enforcement personnel formed a line and announced: 'The press cannot proceed beyond this point'."

But Itan, who was raised in that neighborhood, explained he managed to gain access past the security perimeter, where he continued until the next morning.

He explained that Tuesday night, local residents commenced searching the mountainous area that separates Penha from the neighboring Alemão community for loved ones whose whereabouts were unknown since the police raid.

Residents of the Penha neighbourhood proceeded to place the located casualties in an open area - the documented evidence show the reaction of the gathered crowd.

"The violence of what occurred affected me profoundly: the sorrow of relatives, parents losing consciousness, women carrying children, crying, furious relatives," the photographer recalled.

The eyewitness

The governor of the state announced that the extensive law enforcement effort with approximately 2,500 officers was intended to halting an illegal organization known as Red Command from growing their influence.

Originally, local officials claimed that sixty alleged criminals plus four law enforcement personnel" had been killed in the raid.

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

The legal assistance organization, that gives legal support to the poor, has put the total number of fatalities to be 132.

Per investigative findings, the criminal organization represents the unique criminal entity that in the past few years has succeeded to make territorial gains across the region.

It is generally regarded as a major illegal faction in the country, together with a rival criminal group, and has a history spanning over five decades.

According to correspondent Rafael Soares, with extensive experience documenting criminal activity in the city over many years, the gang "functions as a network" with local criminal leaders joining the organization and becoming "operational allies".

The gang concentrates largely on drug trafficking, but also smuggles firearms, valuable minerals, energy resources, liquor smoking products.

According to the authorities, organization members are well armed and officials reported that throughout the operation, they faced assaults via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The state leader of the state, Cláudio Castro, labeled organization participants as "narcoterrorists" and described the law enforcement personnel who died during the operation as "heroes".

However, the count of casualties in the security action has received condemnation from international human rights authorities saying it was "horrified".

During a press briefing the next day, the official supported law enforcement.

"There was no objective to result in deaths. We wanted to arrest them all alive," he declared.

He further explained that the events worsened due to the alleged criminals fought back: "It resulted of the resistance they carried out and the excessive violence by the illegal group."

The governor also said that the victims displayed by locals in Penha had been "tampered with".

Via a statement on social media, he claimed that certain victims had been removed of the camouflage clothing he said they had been wearing "to redirect responsibility toward law enforcement".

A law enforcement representative representing security forces additionally stated that "camouflage clothing, body armor, and firearms" were taken away from the bodies and presented video apparently demonstrating a man removing tactical gear {off a corpse