🔗 Share this article The bodies just kept coming - photographer recounts fatal Rio law enforcement operation The eyewitness Dozens of bodies were laid out in an open area in Penha in the wake of the most lethal operation in the city's history A reporter who documented the aftermath of a massive law enforcement action in Rio de Janeiro has reported how community members came back with mutilated bodies of the deceased individuals. The bodies "kept piling up: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the eyewitness described. They included security forces. One of the bodies was found without a head - additional victims were "severely damaged", he reported. Many also had what appeared to be stab wounds. More than 120 people were killed during Tuesday's raid against a criminal group - the most lethal operation the municipality has seen. In excess of 100 suspects were arrested as part of the security raid The photographer reported that residents first notified him to the raid early on Tuesday by local people living in Alemão, who contacted him informing him an armed confrontation was occurring. The reporter traveled to a local medical facility, where the bodies were coming in. The eyewitness reported that security forces prevented journalists from entering the affected area, where the police action were taking place. "Security forces formed a line and declared: 'Media representatives cannot proceed beyond this point'." But Itan, who grew up in that neighborhood, explained he was able to enter into the restricted zone, where he remained until dawn. He described that evening, area inhabitants started looking the hillside which divides Penha from the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for loved ones who had been missing following the security action. Residents of the Penha neighbourhood organized the recovered bodies in a square - the photographer's images reveal the reaction of the gathered crowd. "The harsh reality of what occurred affected me a lot: the pain of relatives, mothers fainting, women carrying children, weeping, furious relatives," the eyewitness remembered. The photographer There was disbelief in Penha as community members recovered additional victims from the adjacent terrain The governor of the region stated that the extensive law enforcement effort deploying about 2,500 security personnel was aimed at preventing a criminal group called Red Command from growing their influence. Initially, state authorities maintained that sixty alleged criminals along with four officers" had been killed during the action. Authorities later reported that initial estimates suggests that 117 individuals were fatally injured. Rio's public defender's office, that gives legal support to disadvantaged individuals, has put the final tally of people killed to be 132. According to researchers, Red Command represents the unique criminal entity which in recent years has been able to increase its control throughout Rio state. It is widely considered as a major illegal faction in Brazil, in company with a rival criminal group, with a background spanning over five decades. Per correspondent an expert, who has long reported on illegal operations in Rio extensively, Red Command "works as a system" with local criminal leaders forming part of the gang and acting as "operational allies". The gang focuses mainly on illegal drug trade, while also dealing in guns, valuable minerals, petroleum products, alcohol and tobacco. Based on official reports, criminal affiliates possess significant weaponry and police said that throughout the operation, they faced assaults from explosive-laden drones. The official of Rio state, the government representative, described organization participants as "narcoterrorists" and described the law enforcement personnel fatally injured in the action as courageous individuals. Nevertheless, the total of casualties in the security action has come in for criticism from international human rights authorities expressing they felt "appalled". At a news conference the following day, the official justified security actions. "It wasn't our intention to result in deaths. We aimed to arrest them all alive," he declared. He further explained that the situation worsened as the individuals resisted aggressively: "It resulted of the resistance they carried out and the excessive violence by those criminals." The state leader also said that the bodies shown by residents in the neighborhood were "altered". Via a statement on online platforms, he said that certain victims had been stripped of tactical gear which he claimed they wore "to redirect responsibility toward law enforcement". A law enforcement representative from the police department additionally stated that military attire, vests, and firearms" had been removed from the casualties and displayed evidence seemingly depicting an individual cutting camouflage clothing {off a corpse