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The eyewitness

A reporter who documented the consequences of a massive law enforcement action in Rio de Janeiro has recounted how community members came back with badly injured victims of people who lost their lives.

The victims "continued arriving: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the photographer described. They included those of police officers.

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

Over 120 individuals lost their lives during the security action targeting an illegal organization - the most lethal operation in the city.

The eyewitness explained that residents first notified him concerning the action Tuesday morning by residents from the Alemão area, who reached out alerting him there was a shoot-out.

The eyewitness went to the healthcare center, where the bodies were being brought.

The photographer stated that law enforcement stopped members of the press from going into the Penha neighborhood, where the police action was under way.

"Security forces formed a line and said: 'Journalists cannot proceed beyond this point'."

Nevertheless, the eyewitness, who spent his childhood in that neighborhood, explained he was able to gain access into the cordoned-off area, where he remained until dawn.

He reported that evening, community members began to search the hillside which divides the community of Penha and the neighboring Alemão community for loved ones whose whereabouts were unknown following the security action.

Community members from the Penha area proceeded to place the discovered victims in an open area - the documented evidence display the reaction of the gathered crowd.

"The violence of it all impacted me profoundly: the sorrow of relatives, mothers fainting, women carrying children, crying, angry family members," the reporter recounted.

The eyewitness

The official of the region declared that the extensive law enforcement effort involving around 2,500 officers was intended to halting an illegal organization referred to as the criminal faction from increasing their control.

Originally, local officials stated that sixty alleged criminals plus four law enforcement personnel" lost their lives in the raid.

Authorities later reported that initial estimates suggests that 117 alleged criminals were fatally injured.

The legal assistance organization, that offers legal help to disadvantaged individuals, has put the overall count of casualties as 132.

Based on expert analysis, the criminal organization is the only criminal group that recently has succeeded to make territorial gains in the state of Rio de Janeiro.

It is generally regarded one of the two largest gangs in Brazil, together with another major gang, and has a history dating back more than 50 years.

According to correspondent a specialist, who has been covering criminal activity in the city extensively, the criminal organization "works as a system" with neighborhood bosses joining the organization and acting as "commercial associates".

The criminal group engages primarily in narcotics distribution, but also smuggles firearms, valuable minerals, energy resources, alcohol smoking products.

Based on official reports, organization members have substantial firearms and officials reported that throughout the operation, they faced assaults from explosive-laden drones.

The state leader of the state, the political leader, labeled gang affiliates as "narcoterrorists" and called the security forces fatally injured in the action as courageous individuals.

But the number of fatalities in the security action has faced scrutiny from UN human rights officials stating they were "horrified".

During a press briefing the following day, Governor Castro defended the police force.

"We did not plan to kill anyone. We intended to arrest them all alive," he said.

He further explained that the situation had escalated due to the alleged criminals had retaliated: "It resulted of the retaliation they carried out and the overwhelming response from the gang members."

The state leader also said that the casualties presented by community members in the neighborhood had been "tampered with".

Via a statement on social media, he said that certain victims had been stripped of military-style attire he said they had been wearing "to redirect responsibility onto the police".

Felipe Curi from the police department also said that tactical gear, protective equipment, and firearms" were stripped from the victims and displayed evidence apparently demonstrating an individual removing tactical gear {off a corpse