🔗 Share this article The victims kept arriving - photographer recounts fatal Rio law enforcement operation The photographer Numerous victims were laid out in an open area in northern Rio following the bloodiest security action Rio has ever seen A reporter who documented the consequences of a massive security raid in the Brazilian city has described how local people came back with badly injured victims of the deceased individuals. The casualties "kept piling up: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the photographer stated. They included law enforcement personnel. A particular victim was discovered headless - while others appeared "totally disfigured", he explained. Numerous victims displayed what appeared to be blade trauma. Over 120 individuals lost their lives during Tuesday's raid targeting an illegal organization - the deadliest such raid the municipality has seen. More than 100 people were detained as part of the security raid Bruno Itan stated that residents first notified him to the raid Tuesday morning by local people of the Alemão neighbourhood, who sent him messages alerting him an armed confrontation was occurring. The eyewitness traveled to a local medical facility, where the bodies were arriving. The eyewitness reported that law enforcement stopped members of the press from accessing the operation zone, where the operation were taking place. "Law enforcement personnel created a barrier and announced: 'Media representatives cannot proceed beyond this point'." But Itan, who spent his childhood in the community, explained he managed to gain access into the cordoned-off area, where he stayed until dawn. He described during the night, community members commenced searching the elevated terrain that separates Penha from the adjacent Alemão area for loved ones who were unaccounted for after the operation. Community members living in Penha organized the located casualties in a square - the documented evidence show the response of those present. "The brutality of the situation impacted me profoundly: the grief of loved ones, women collapsing, pregnant wives, weeping, furious relatives," the photographer recalled. The photographer There was disbelief in the community as residents recovered increasing numbers of casualties from the surrounding area The governor of the region announced that the massive police operation deploying about 2,500 officers was aimed at halting an illegal organization referred to as Comando Vermelho from increasing their control. At first, state authorities maintained that sixty alleged criminals and four police officers" were fatally injured in the raid. Officials subsequently stated that early calculations shows that 117 alleged criminals were fatally injured. The legal assistance organization, which provides legal assistance to disadvantaged individuals, has calculated the total number of casualties at 132. Based on expert analysis, the criminal organization represents the unique criminal entity which in recent years has succeeded to increase its control across the region. It is generally regarded among the biggest criminal organizations nationally, together with another major gang, and has a history extending half a century. Based on correspondent a specialist, with extensive experience documenting crime in Rio extensively, the gang "operates like a franchise" with neighborhood bosses joining the organization and acting as "business partners". The gang engages primarily in narcotics distribution, additionally trafficking firearms, valuable minerals, energy resources, alcohol cigarettes. According to the authorities, criminal affiliates are well armed and authorities stated that during the raid, they came under attack from explosive-laden drones. The official of the region, Cláudio Castro, labeled gang affiliates as "narcoterrorists" and called the four police officers fatally injured in the action as courageous individuals. Nevertheless, the total of fatalities in the security action has received condemnation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights expressing they felt "horrified". At a news conference the next day, Governor Castro defended the police force. "There was no objective to cause fatalities. We aimed to detain everyone safely," he declared. He further explained that the circumstances intensified as the individuals fought back: "It resulted of the counterattack they implemented and the excessive violence by those criminals." The official also said that the victims shown by residents in the area had been "tampered with". Via a statement through digital channels, he asserted that particular individuals had been removed of military-style attire which he claimed they wore "in order to shift blame toward law enforcement". Felipe Curi from the police department further reported that military attire, vests, and firearms" were stripped from the victims and displayed evidence seemingly depicting a person stripping military attire {off a corpse