The victims kept arriving - photographer recounts fatal Rio law enforcement operation

Bruno Itan

A photographer who documented the results of an extensive Brazilian police operation in the Brazilian city has described how residents came back with disfigured remains of those who had died.

The bodies "kept piling up: the numbers kept rising", Bruno Itan described. They included law enforcement personnel.

One individual was discovered headless - others were "severely damaged", he reported. Numerous victims displayed what he described as knife injuries.

More than 120 people were fatally injured during the security action targeting an illegal organization - the deadliest such raid in the city.

The photographer stated that he was first alerted about the operation early on Tuesday by local people from the Alemão area, who contacted him informing him gunfire had erupted.

The photographer made his way to the Getúlio Vargas hospital, where the bodies were coming in.

Itan explained that the police prevented journalists from going into the affected area, where the police action were taking place.

"Police officers established a perimeter and said: 'Journalists doesn't get past here'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who was raised in the community, reported he succeeded to enter past the security perimeter, where he stayed until dawn.

He reported that Tuesday night, community members started looking the hillside that borders the community of Penha and the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for family members who were unaccounted for following the security action.

Local people living in Penha proceeded to place the discovered victims in an open area - the documented evidence display the response of those present.

"The brutality of the situation impacted me a lot: the pain of loved ones, parents losing consciousness, pregnant wives, weeping, furious relatives," the eyewitness remembered.

Bruno Itan

The official of the region stated that the large-scale security action deploying about 2,500 security personnel was aimed at stopping a criminal group referred to as the criminal faction from growing their influence.

At first, local officials claimed that sixty individuals along with four officers" lost their lives in the raid.

Officials subsequently stated that their "preliminary" count suggests that 117 alleged criminals lost their lives.

The public legal service, that offers legal help to disadvantaged individuals, has estimated the overall count of fatalities as 132.

Based on expert analysis, the criminal organization is the only criminal group that in the past few years has succeeded to expand its territory throughout Rio state.

Experts commonly view as a major illegal faction in the country, together with a rival criminal group, featuring a timeline spanning over five decades.

According to correspondent Rafael Soares, who has long reported on crime in Rio over many years, the gang "works as a system" with local criminal leaders affiliating with the group and becoming "operational allies".

The gang focuses mainly on illegal drug trade, while also dealing in guns, valuable minerals, fuel, beverages and tobacco.

Per law enforcement statements, gang members have substantial firearms and officials reported that while the action was underway, they came under attack from explosive-laden drones.

The official of Rio state, Cláudio Castro, described organization participants as drug terrorists and called the law enforcement personnel who died during the operation as brave public servants.

However, the count of fatalities in the operation has come in for criticism from international human rights authorities stating they were "appalled".

In a media appearance on Wednesday, Governor Castro supported law enforcement.

"It wasn't our intention to kill anyone. We wanted to take suspects into custody without harm," he said.

He further explained that the circumstances had escalated as the individuals resisted aggressively: "It occurred of the retaliation they implemented and the excessive violence from the gang members."

The official additionally stated that the bodies presented by community members in Penha had been "tampered with".

In a post through digital channels, he claimed that particular individuals 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 also said that military attire, vests, and arms" were stripped from the casualties and presented video appearing to show an individual removing tactical gear {off a corpse