🔗 Share this article The casualties continued piling up - photographer recounts lethal Rio security action Bruno Itan Dozens of bodies were displayed in a public space in Penha after the bloodiest security action the municipality has experienced A photographer who documented the aftermath of an extensive security raid in the metropolitan area has reported how community members returned with disfigured remains of those who had died. The victims "kept coming: the numbers kept rising", Bruno Itan described. Among them were security forces. One individual was found without a head - additional victims were "totally disfigured", he explained. Numerous victims displayed what he described as blade trauma. More than 120 people lost their lives during Tuesday's raid targeting an illegal organization - the deadliest such raid in the city. More than 100 people were taken into custody as part of the security raid The photographer explained that residents first notified him about the operation early on Tuesday by local people of the Alemão neighbourhood, who sent him messages telling him an armed confrontation was occurring. The reporter went to the Getúlio Vargas hospital, where the bodies were being brought. The photographer stated that security forces stopped members of the press from accessing the operation zone, where the security measures were taking place. "Security forces established a perimeter and declared: 'The press are not allowed to pass'." But Itan, who was raised in the community, explained he succeeded to gain access into the cordoned-off area, where he stayed through the night. He reported that evening, area inhabitants started looking the hillside that separates the Penha neighborhood from the nearby Alemão neighbourhood for loved ones who were unaccounted for since the police raid. Community members living in Penha proceeded to place the recovered bodies in a square - the photographer's images show the emotions of those present. "The harsh reality of it all impacted me profoundly: the grief of loved ones, women collapsing, women carrying children, crying, outraged parents," the eyewitness remembered. Bruno Itan There was disbelief in the neighborhood as community members retrieved more and more bodies from the surrounding area The governor of the state announced that the extensive law enforcement effort deploying about 2,500 security personnel was designed to halting a criminal group called Comando Vermelho from increasing their control. Originally, local officials maintained that "60 suspects along with four officers" lost their lives in the raid. They have since said that their "preliminary" count shows that 117 "suspects" were fatally injured. Rio's public defender's office, that offers legal help to the poor, has calculated the total number of casualties to be 132. According to researchers, the criminal organization represents the unique criminal entity that recently has managed to make territorial gains throughout Rio state. It is generally regarded one of the two largest gangs in the country, together with First Capital Command, with a background dating back more than 50 years. Based on Brazilian journalist an expert, with extensive experience documenting criminal activity in the city for years, the gang "operates like a franchise" with local criminal leaders affiliating with the group and becoming "commercial associates". The criminal group concentrates largely on narcotics distribution, but also smuggles guns, precious metals, petroleum products, liquor smoking products. According to the authorities, organization members are well armed and officials reported that during the raid, they came under attack from explosive-laden drones. The state leader of the region, Cláudio Castro, described organization participants as criminal extremists and called the security forces fatally injured in the action as "heroes". Nevertheless, the total of casualties during the raid has faced scrutiny from UN human rights officials expressing they felt "horrified". In a media appearance the next day, the state leader supported law enforcement. "We did not plan to kill anyone. We aimed to take suspects into custody without harm," he declared. He continued that the events intensified due to the alleged criminals fought back: "It occurred of the retaliation they carried out and the overwhelming response by the illegal group." The state leader additionally stated that the victims shown by residents in the area had been "manipulated". In a post through digital channels, he claimed that particular individuals had been removed of the camouflage clothing that he stated they possessed "to transfer accusation to security forces". Felipe Curi of Rio's civil police force also said that military attire, protective equipment, and arms" had been removed from the bodies and presented video seemingly depicting a person stripping military attire {off a corpse