🔗 Share this article

Bruno Itan

A photographer who observed the results of a large-scale Brazilian police operation in the metropolitan area has described how local people returned with mutilated bodies of those who had died.

The casualties "kept piling up: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", Bruno Itan reported. The total contained those of police officers.

A particular victim was found without a head - additional victims were "completely mutilated", he explained. Numerous victims displayed what appeared to be blade trauma.

Over 120 individuals were killed during Tuesday's raid on a criminal gang - the bloodiest action in the city.

The eyewitness stated that he was first alerted concerning the action in the early hours by local people living in Alemão, who sent him messages telling him there was a shoot-out.

The reporter traveled to the Getúlio Vargas hospital, where the casualties were arriving.

The eyewitness reported that the police blocked media personnel from entering the Penha neighborhood, where the security measures were taking place.

"Security forces created a barrier and said: 'Media representatives are not allowed to pass'."

However, the photographer, who grew up in the community, reported he was able to enter into the cordoned-off area, where he stayed until dawn.

He reported that Tuesday night, area inhabitants began to search the hillside that separates the community of Penha and the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for relatives who had been missing since the police raid.

Local people from the Penha area proceeded to place the located casualties in an open area - the documented evidence display the response of the gathered crowd.

"The violence of it all shook me profoundly: the sorrow of relatives, parents losing consciousness, pregnant wives, crying, outraged parents," the reporter recounted.

The photographer

The official of the state announced that the large-scale security action with approximately 2,500 law enforcement members was aimed at stopping an illegal organization called Red Command from expanding its territory.

Initially, the Rio state government claimed that sixty individuals plus four law enforcement personnel" had been killed in the operation.

Authorities later reported that early calculations shows that 117 alleged criminals lost their lives.

The public legal service, that gives legal support to low-income residents, has calculated the overall count of people killed as 132.

Based on expert analysis, Red Command represents the unique criminal entity which in recent years has succeeded to increase its control throughout Rio state.

Experts commonly view among the biggest criminal organizations in Brazil, together with First Capital Command, featuring a timeline spanning over five decades.

According to reporter Rafael Soares, who has long reported on criminal activity in the city for years, the criminal organization "works as a system" with local criminal leaders forming part of the gang and serving as "operational allies".

The gang focuses mainly on drug trafficking, but also smuggles weapons, precious metals, fuel, liquor and tobacco.

Per law enforcement statements, criminal affiliates possess significant weaponry and authorities stated that during the raid, they faced assaults via weaponized unmanned aircraft.

The official of the state, the political leader, labeled Red Command members as "narcoterrorists" and referred to the security forces killed in the raid as courageous individuals.

But the number of fatalities during the raid has come in for criticism from international human rights authorities expressing they felt "horrified".

In a media appearance on Wednesday, the state leader defended the police force.

"It wasn't our intention to result in deaths. We intended to detain everyone safely," he stated.

He added that the situation had escalated as the individuals fought back: "It was a consequence of the retaliation they implemented and the overwhelming response from the gang members."

The state leader also said that the casualties presented by community members in the area had been "manipulated".

Via a statement on online platforms, he claimed that particular individuals had been removed of military-style attire that he stated they possessed "to redirect responsibility to security forces".

A law enforcement representative from the police department additionally stated that tactical gear, protective equipment, and arms" were stripped from the victims and showed footage seemingly depicting a man stripping military attire {off a corpse