🔗 Share this article The victims kept arriving - photographer recounts lethal Rio police raid The eyewitness Numerous victims were arranged in a public space in northern Rio in the wake of the deadliest police raid in the city's history A reporter who documented the aftermath of an extensive Brazilian police operation in the metropolitan area has described how community members came back with disfigured remains of those who had died. The bodies "kept piling up: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the photographer stated. The total contained security forces. One of the bodies was found without a head - while others appeared "severely damaged", he said. Several bodies showed what appeared to be blade trauma. Over 120 individuals lost their lives during Tuesday's raid targeting an illegal organization - the most lethal operation the municipality has seen. In excess of 100 suspects were arrested in connection with the security raid The photographer reported that he initially learned to the raid early on Tuesday by residents of the Alemão neighbourhood, who sent him messages telling him there was a shoot-out. The photographer traveled to the Getúlio Vargas hospital, where the casualties were coming in. The photographer stated that security forces stopped members of the press from accessing the affected area, where the police action were occurring. "Police officers formed a line and said: 'Journalists are not allowed to pass'." However, the photographer, who grew up in that neighborhood, reported he managed to enter into the cordoned-off area, where he stayed until dawn. He explained that evening, community members started looking the mountainous area that borders the Penha neighborhood from the adjacent Alemão area for loved ones who had been missing since the police raid. Community members of the Penha neighbourhood arranged the discovered victims in a square - and Itan's photos display the emotions of the gathered crowd. "The violence of the situation impacted me deeply: the grief of relatives, women collapsing, expectant spouses, sobbing, outraged parents," the reporter recounted. The eyewitness There was shock in the community as community members found increasing numbers of casualties from the nearby hillside The official of the state declared that the massive police operation deploying about 2,500 officers was designed to preventing an illegal organization referred to as Red Command from increasing their control. Initially, the Rio state government maintained that sixty individuals plus four law enforcement personnel" were fatally injured in the raid. They have since said that initial estimates indicates that 117 alleged criminals have been killed. The legal assistance organization, which provides legal assistance to low-income residents, has calculated the final tally of fatalities to be 132. Per investigative findings, the criminal organization is the only criminal group that in the past few years has been able to make territorial gains across the region. It is widely considered one of the two largest gangs in the country, in company with First Capital Command, and has a history extending half a century. Based on correspondent Rafael Soares, with extensive experience documenting illegal operations in Rio for years, the criminal organization "works as a system" with local criminal leaders forming part of the gang and acting as "business partners". The organization focuses mainly on drug trafficking, while also dealing in weapons, valuable minerals, petroleum products, alcohol and tobacco. According to the authorities, gang members are well armed and police said that while the action was underway, they faced assaults via weaponized unmanned aircraft. The official of the state, Cláudio Castro, described gang affiliates as drug terrorists and called the law enforcement personnel killed in the raid as brave public servants. Nevertheless, the total of casualties in the security action has come in for criticism from international human rights authorities stating they were "appalled". In a media appearance the following day, the official supported law enforcement. "It wasn't our intention to kill anyone. We wanted to arrest them all alive," he stated. He further explained that the situation worsened as the individuals had retaliated: "It resulted of the counterattack they carried out and the overwhelming response by the illegal group." The governor further reported that the bodies presented by community members in Penha were "altered". In a post on social media, he asserted that certain victims had been removed of tactical gear that he stated they possessed "to transfer accusation toward law enforcement". A police official of Rio's civil police force also said that tactical gear, body armor, and firearms" were taken away from the casualties and presented video seemingly depicting an individual stripping military attire {off a corpse