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The photographer

A photographer who documented the consequences of an extensive security raid in the metropolitan area has recounted how residents came back with disfigured remains of people who lost their lives.

The victims "continued arriving: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the eyewitness described. The total contained law enforcement personnel.

One of the bodies was discovered headless - while others appeared "completely mutilated", he said. Several bodies showed what appeared to be knife injuries.

Over 120 individuals were fatally injured during the security action on a criminal gang - the most lethal operation the municipality has seen.

The eyewitness explained that he initially learned to the raid Tuesday morning by residents from the Alemão area, who contacted him telling him gunfire had erupted.

The eyewitness made his way to the healthcare center, where the victims were coming in.

Itan explained that law enforcement prevented journalists from entering the affected area, where the police action were occurring.

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

But Itan, who was raised in the community, stated he managed to gain access past the security perimeter, where he continued through the night.

He reported that Tuesday night, local residents began to search the mountainous area that borders Penha from the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for relatives who had been missing following the security action.

Community members from the Penha area organized the discovered victims in a public space - the documented evidence reveal the reaction of the gathered crowd.

"The harsh reality of the situation shook me a lot: the grief of the families, mothers fainting, pregnant wives, sobbing, angry family members," the reporter recounted.

The photographer

The official of the region declared that the large-scale security action with approximately 2,500 officers was intended to halting an illegal organization referred to as the criminal faction from growing their influence.

At first, local officials maintained that "60 suspects plus four law enforcement personnel" were fatally injured during the action.

Officials subsequently stated that initial estimates suggests that 117 individuals lost their lives.

The public legal service, that offers legal help to low-income residents, has put the overall count of casualties as 132.

Based on expert analysis, the gang stands as the sole illegal faction which in recent years has managed to make territorial gains across the region.

It is widely considered among the biggest criminal organizations nationally, alongside another major gang, with a background extending half a century.

Per reporter an expert, who has been covering illegal operations in Rio extensively, the gang "functions as a network" with neighborhood bosses joining the organization and acting as "operational allies".

The criminal group engages primarily in drug trafficking, while also dealing in guns, precious metals, energy resources, liquor smoking products.

According to the authorities, gang members possess significant weaponry and officials reported that while the action was underway, they came under attack from explosive-laden drones.

The official of the region, the political leader, labeled gang affiliates as drug terrorists and called the security forces who died during the operation as courageous individuals.

Nevertheless, the total of fatalities during the raid has faced scrutiny with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights stating they were "shocked".

In a media appearance the next day, Governor Castro supported law enforcement.

"We did not plan to result in deaths. We intended to take suspects into custody without harm," he declared.

He added that the circumstances worsened because the suspects had retaliated: "It was a consequence 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 had been "manipulated".

Via a statement on social media, he asserted that certain victims had been stripped of the camouflage clothing he said they had been wearing "in order to shift blame onto the police".

A law enforcement representative representing security forces further reported that "camouflage clothing, protective equipment, and firearms" were stripped from the bodies and showed footage apparently demonstrating a person cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse