🔗 Share this article The victims kept arriving - reporter shares fatal Rio security action The eyewitness Numerous victims were displayed in a square in Penha in the wake of the most lethal operation Rio has ever seen A reporter who witnessed the aftermath of a massive security raid in Rio de Janeiro has described how community members came back with disfigured remains of the deceased individuals. The casualties "kept coming: the numbers kept rising", the photographer described. Among them were security forces. A particular victim was found without a head - while others appeared "severely damaged", he said. Many also had what appeared to be blade trauma. Over 120 individuals were killed during the security action targeting an illegal organization - the most lethal operation the municipality has seen. Over 100 individuals were taken into custody as part of the police action The eyewitness explained that he initially learned about the operation early on Tuesday by local people from the Alemão area, who sent him messages telling him an armed confrontation was occurring. The eyewitness made his way to the healthcare center, where the bodies were being brought. The photographer stated that law enforcement blocked media personnel from entering the operation zone, where the operation was under way. "Police officers established a perimeter and announced: 'Media representatives doesn't get past here'." But Itan, who spent his childhood in the area, stated he was able to enter into the restricted zone, where he remained until the next morning. He reported that evening, local residents commenced searching the hillside which divides Penha from the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for family members who had been missing following the security action. Local people living in Penha proceeded to place the recovered bodies in a public space - the photographer's images display the response of the gathered crowd. "The violence of what occurred impacted me a lot: the pain of relatives, mothers fainting, pregnant wives, sobbing, furious relatives," the reporter recounted. The photographer There was shock in the community as locals retrieved additional victims from the nearby hillside The governor of the region announced that the large-scale security action with approximately 2,500 security personnel was aimed at stopping a gang called the criminal faction from increasing their control. Initially, the Rio state government claimed that sixty alleged criminals plus four law enforcement personnel" lost their lives during the action. Officials subsequently stated that initial estimates suggests that 117 alleged criminals have been killed. Rio's public defender's office, that offers legal help to low-income residents, has estimated the overall count of fatalities as 132. Based on expert analysis, the criminal organization stands as the sole illegal faction that in the past few years has managed to increase its control throughout Rio state. It is generally regarded among the biggest criminal organizations in Brazil, alongside First Capital Command, with a background spanning over five decades. Per Brazilian journalist a specialist, with extensive experience documenting crime in Rio over many years, the gang "operates like a franchise" with local criminal leaders forming part of the gang and becoming "business partners". The gang engages primarily in illegal drug trade, while also dealing in firearms, valuable minerals, fuel, beverages and tobacco. Per law enforcement statements, criminal affiliates are well armed and officials reported that throughout the operation, they encountered resistance via weaponized unmanned aircraft. The official of the state, the political leader, described gang affiliates as criminal extremists and described the four police officers who died during the operation as brave public servants. But the number of fatalities in the operation has come in for criticism from UN human rights officials stating they were "shocked". During a press briefing the following day, the state leader defended the police force. "We did not plan to result in deaths. We wanted to take suspects into custody without harm," he declared. He further explained that the situation intensified as the individuals resisted aggressively: "It resulted of the counterattack they implemented and the overwhelming response by the illegal group." The official also said that the casualties displayed by locals in the neighborhood were "altered". Through a message through digital channels, he said that some of them had been taken of military-style attire that he stated they possessed "to transfer accusation to security forces". Felipe Curi from the police department additionally stated that tactical gear, vests, and firearms" had been removed from the casualties and presented video appearing to show an individual removing tactical gear {off a corpse