🔗 Share this article The victims kept arriving - photographer recounts deadly Rio law enforcement operation The photographer Numerous victims were displayed in a square in northern Rio in the wake of the bloodiest security action in the city's history A reporter who documented the consequences of a large-scale law enforcement action in the Brazilian city has recounted how residents returned with badly injured victims of those who had died. The bodies "kept piling up: the count kept increasing", the eyewitness stated. The total contained those of police officers. One of the bodies was discovered headless - while others appeared "completely mutilated", he said. Several bodies showed what appeared to be blade trauma. Over 120 individuals lost their lives during the security action targeting an illegal organization - the deadliest such raid the municipality has seen. In excess of 100 suspects were arrested as part of the operation The photographer stated that he initially learned concerning the action early on Tuesday by community members living in Alemão, who reached out telling him there was a shoot-out. The eyewitness traveled to the Getúlio Vargas hospital, where the casualties were coming in. The eyewitness reported that security forces stopped members of the press from entering the Penha neighborhood, where the security measures were occurring. "Police officers established a perimeter and announced: 'Journalists doesn't get past here'." But Itan, who was raised in the community, stated he managed to make his way past the security perimeter, where he remained until the next morning. He described that evening, local residents started looking the mountainous area that separates the Penha neighborhood from the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for relatives who had been missing since the police raid. Residents from the Penha area arranged the recovered bodies in a square - the documented evidence display the emotions of the gathered crowd. "The harsh reality of it all affected me deeply: the pain of loved ones, women collapsing, pregnant wives, sobbing, furious relatives," the eyewitness remembered. The photographer There was disbelief in the neighborhood as community members recovered more and more bodies from the adjacent terrain The governor of the region stated that the large-scale security action with approximately 2,500 law enforcement members was intended to halting a gang called Comando Vermelho from growing their influence. Originally, the Rio state government maintained that sixty individuals and four police officers" lost their lives in the raid. Authorities later reported that early calculations suggests that 117 alleged criminals have been killed. The public legal service, that gives legal support to the poor, has estimated the final tally of people killed to be 132. Based on expert analysis, the criminal organization stands as the sole illegal faction that recently has succeeded to make territorial gains across the region. Experts commonly view one of the two largest gangs in Brazil, in company with First Capital Command, and has a history extending half a century. According to correspondent Rafael Soares, who has long reported on criminal activity in the city extensively, the criminal organization "functions as a network" with area gang leaders forming part of the gang and becoming "commercial associates". The organization engages primarily in drug trafficking, while also dealing in firearms, precious metals, energy resources, alcohol cigarettes. According to the authorities, gang members are well armed and authorities stated that throughout the operation, they came under attack via weaponized unmanned aircraft. The governor of the region, the government representative, characterized organization participants as "narcoterrorists" and described the law enforcement personnel who died during the operation as "heroes". Nevertheless, the total of people killed in the operation has received condemnation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights saying it was "horrified". During a press briefing on Wednesday, the official justified security actions. "There was no objective to cause fatalities. We intended to detain everyone safely," he said. He continued that the situation worsened due to the alleged criminals fought back: "It was a consequence of the resistance they carried out and the excessive violence by the illegal group." The governor also said that the victims shown by residents in the neighborhood were "altered". Via a statement on social media, he asserted that certain victims had been removed of military-style attire which he claimed they wore "to transfer accusation toward law enforcement". A police official of Rio's civil police force additionally stated that military attire, vests, and weapons" were stripped from the victims and showed footage seemingly depicting a person stripping military attire {off a corpse