🔗 Share this article The victims kept arriving - eyewitness describes deadly Rio police raid Bruno Itan Multiple casualties were displayed in a square in Penha following the deadliest police raid the municipality has experienced A photographer who witnessed the results of an extensive law enforcement action in Rio de Janeiro has recounted how community members brought back badly injured victims of those who had died. The bodies "kept piling up: 25, 30, 35, 40, 45...", the eyewitness reported. The total contained law enforcement personnel. One individual was found without a head - others were "totally disfigured", he explained. Numerous victims displayed what he described as knife injuries. In excess of 120 victims lost their lives during Tuesday's raid targeting an illegal organization - the deadliest such raid Rio has experienced. In excess of 100 suspects were detained in connection with the operation The eyewitness stated that he was first alerted concerning the action Tuesday morning by community members of the Alemão neighbourhood, who reached out informing him there was a shoot-out. The reporter traveled to the Getúlio Vargas hospital, where the victims were being brought. The photographer stated that the police stopped members of the press from going into the operation zone, where the operation was under way. "Security forces established a perimeter and said: 'Media representatives are not allowed to pass'." However, the photographer, who was raised in the community, stated he succeeded to enter into the restricted zone, where he remained until dawn. He described that evening, community members commenced searching the mountainous area that separates Penha from the adjacent Alemão area for family members who had been missing after the operation. Local people of the Penha neighbourhood proceeded to place the located casualties in a public space - and Itan's photos show the response of those present. "The harsh reality of the situation impacted me profoundly: the sorrow of the families, women collapsing, women carrying children, sobbing, angry family members," the eyewitness remembered. The eyewitness There was disbelief in the neighborhood as residents found more and more bodies from the nearby hillside The governor of Rio state stated that the extensive law enforcement effort involving around 2,500 law enforcement members was aimed at stopping an illegal organization called the criminal faction from growing their influence. Originally, state authorities stated that "60 suspects plus four law enforcement personnel" had been killed during the action. They have since said that their "preliminary" count indicates that 117 individuals lost their lives. Rio's public defender's office, that offers legal help to low-income residents, has put the final tally of fatalities at 132. Per investigative findings, Red Command is the only criminal group that recently has succeeded to make territorial gains in the state of Rio de Janeiro. It is widely considered one of the two largest gangs in the country, together with First Capital Command, featuring a timeline extending half a century. Based on reporter a specialist, who has long reported on criminal activity in the city extensively, the criminal organization "operates like a franchise" with area gang leaders affiliating with the group and acting as "operational allies". The organization concentrates largely on illegal drug trade, but also smuggles guns, valuable minerals, petroleum products, liquor cigarettes. Per law enforcement statements, gang members have substantial firearms and authorities stated that while the action was underway, they encountered resistance using drone-delivered explosives. The governor of the region, the political leader, labeled organization participants as drug terrorists and called the security forces fatally injured in the action as courageous individuals. However, the count of casualties during the raid has faced scrutiny from international human rights authorities expressing they felt "shocked". At a news conference on Wednesday, Governor Castro defended the police force. "It wasn't our intention to kill anyone. We aimed to arrest them all alive," he stated. He continued that the events intensified because the suspects resisted aggressively: "It was a consequence of the retaliation they carried out and the overwhelming response by the illegal group." The governor also said that the casualties shown by residents in the area had been "tampered with". In a post on social media, he asserted that particular individuals had been stripped of tactical gear which he claimed they wore "to redirect responsibility onto the police". A police official from the police department further reported that "camouflage clothing, protective equipment, and arms" had been removed from the casualties and showed footage seemingly depicting an individual removing tactical gear {off a corpse