🔗 Share this article The bodies just kept coming - photographer recounts lethal Rio law enforcement operation The photographer Dozens of bodies were arranged in a square in Penha after the most lethal operation Rio has ever seen An eyewitness who observed the consequences of a large-scale security raid in the Brazilian city has described how residents came back with badly injured victims of the deceased individuals. The victims "continued arriving: the count kept increasing", Bruno Itan reported. They included law enforcement personnel. One of the bodies was found without a head - while others appeared "totally disfigured", he said. Several bodies showed what he described as stab wounds. Over 120 individuals were killed during the security action against a criminal group - the most lethal operation Rio has experienced. More than 100 people were taken into custody during the police action The photographer reported that he initially learned about the operation in the early hours by residents living in Alemão, who contacted him telling him there was a shoot-out. The reporter traveled to the Getúlio Vargas hospital, where the bodies were coming in. The photographer stated that the police prevented journalists from going into the affected area, where the operation were taking place. "Police officers formed a line and said: 'Media representatives doesn't get past here'." However, the photographer, who grew up in the community, reported he was able to enter into the restricted zone, where he remained through the night. He reported that Tuesday night, community members commenced searching the hillside that borders the community of Penha and the adjacent Alemão area for loved ones who had been missing after the operation. Community members living in Penha arranged the recovered bodies in a square - the photographer's images reveal the reaction of the gathered crowd. "The violence of the situation shook me profoundly: the grief of the families, mothers fainting, expectant spouses, weeping, angry family members," the eyewitness remembered. The photographer There was shock in the community as community members recovered additional victims from the adjacent terrain The official of Rio state declared that the extensive law enforcement effort with approximately 2,500 security personnel was aimed at preventing an illegal organization referred to as Comando Vermelho from increasing their control. At first, the Rio state government claimed that sixty alleged criminals and four police officers" had been killed during the action. Officials subsequently stated that early calculations indicates that 117 alleged criminals have been killed. Rio's public defender's office, that offers legal help to disadvantaged individuals, has put the final tally of fatalities as 132. Based on expert analysis, the gang is the only criminal group that recently has been able to make territorial gains across the region. It is generally regarded among the biggest criminal organizations nationally, in company with a rival criminal group, with a background spanning over five decades. Per Brazilian journalist an expert, with extensive experience documenting crime in Rio over many years, the gang "works as a system" with local criminal leaders joining the organization and becoming "commercial associates". The criminal group concentrates largely on drug trafficking, additionally trafficking firearms, gold, petroleum products, beverages cigarettes. Based on official reports, criminal affiliates are well armed and authorities stated that throughout the operation, they came under attack via weaponized unmanned aircraft. The state leader of the state, the political leader, labeled organization participants as criminal extremists and referred to the law enforcement personnel fatally injured in the action as brave public servants. But the number of casualties in the security action has faced scrutiny with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights stating they were "appalled". In a media appearance the following day, the state leader defended the police force. "There was no objective to result in deaths. We intended to arrest them all alive," he stated. He further explained that the events intensified due to the alleged criminals fought back: "It resulted of the counterattack they carried out and the disproportionate use of force by those criminals." The official further reported that the bodies displayed by locals in Penha had been "tampered with". Through a message on online platforms, he claimed that some of them had been stripped of tactical gear that he stated they possessed "in order to shift blame toward law enforcement". Felipe Curi of Rio's civil police force further reported that "camouflage clothing, vests, and firearms" had been removed from the casualties and displayed evidence appearing to show a person stripping military attire {off a corpse