🔗 Share this article The victims kept arriving - photographer recounts deadly Rio law enforcement operation The photographer Dozens of bodies were laid out in a square in the Rio neighborhood after the deadliest police raid Rio has ever seen A photographer who witnessed the aftermath of a large-scale security raid in Rio de Janeiro has reported how community members brought back disfigured remains of those who had died. The victims "kept coming: the numbers kept rising", the eyewitness described. They included law enforcement personnel. One individual had been decapitated - while others appeared "completely mutilated", he said. Several bodies showed evidence of knife injuries. In excess of 120 victims lost their lives during Tuesday's raid on a criminal gang - the bloodiest action Rio has experienced. More than 100 people were arrested during the police action Bruno Itan explained that he initially learned about the operation Tuesday morning by residents of the Alemão neighbourhood, who reached out informing him there was a shoot-out. The photographer went to the healthcare center, where the victims were being brought. Itan explained that law enforcement blocked media personnel from going into the Penha neighborhood, where the security measures were occurring. "Security forces created a barrier and declared: 'The press cannot proceed beyond this point'." However, the photographer, who spent his childhood in the community, reported he succeeded to make his way into the restricted zone, where he stayed through the night. He described that Tuesday night, local residents started looking the mountainous area that separates the community of Penha and the neighboring Alemão community for loved ones who had been missing after the operation. Residents of the Penha neighbourhood organized the recovered bodies in a square - and Itan's photos show the response of the gathered crowd. "The harsh reality of the situation shook me deeply: the sorrow of the families, mothers fainting, women carrying children, sobbing, outraged parents," the eyewitness remembered. The photographer There was disbelief in the neighborhood as community members recovered additional victims from the adjacent terrain The official of Rio state announced that the large-scale security action involving around 2,500 security personnel was designed to stopping an illegal organization called Red Command from expanding its territory. Initially, the Rio state government stated that "60 suspects along with four officers" lost their lives during the action. They have since said that their "preliminary" count indicates that 117 individuals lost their lives. The legal assistance organization, that gives legal support to the poor, has put the total number of fatalities at 132. Based on expert analysis, the gang stands as the sole illegal faction that recently has been able to make territorial gains across the region. It is widely considered one of the two largest gangs in the country, in company with another major gang, with a background spanning over five decades. According to Brazilian journalist a specialist, who has long reported on criminal activity in the city for years, the gang "functions as a network" with neighborhood bosses joining the organization and acting as "commercial associates". The criminal group engages primarily in drug trafficking, additionally trafficking weapons, precious metals, fuel, beverages cigarettes. Per law enforcement statements, criminal affiliates possess significant weaponry and police said that while the action was underway, they faced assaults using drone-delivered explosives. The official of Rio state, Cláudio Castro, labeled Red Command members as "narcoterrorists" and called the security forces who died during the operation as courageous individuals. Nevertheless, the total of people killed in the security action has come in for criticism from international human rights authorities saying it was "shocked". During a press briefing on Wednesday, the state leader supported law enforcement. "We did not plan to kill anyone. We aimed to detain everyone safely," he declared. He further explained that the circumstances worsened as the individuals resisted aggressively: "It resulted of the retaliation they executed and the overwhelming response by those criminals." The governor also said that the victims displayed by locals in Penha had been "tampered with". Through a message on online platforms, he asserted that particular individuals had been stripped of military-style attire he said they had been wearing "in order to shift blame onto the police". A police official of Rio's civil police force further reported that military attire, protective equipment, and arms" were taken away from the bodies and displayed evidence seemingly depicting a man cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse