132 dead in bloody police operation against crime gang in Rio

At least 132 people died in a massive police operation against a crime syndicate in the Brazilian coastal metropolis of Rio de Janeiro, local authorities revealed on Wednesday.

The latest figure from the independent ombudsman's office in Rio de Janeiro more than doubled the known number of victims, one day after the violent clashes in the slums, or favelas, of Alemão and Penha.

The state government on Tuesday said 64 had been killed, including four police officers, and then reduced the number to 58.

However, on Wednesday, residents of the Penha favela recovered dozens more bodies from the surrounding wastelands and wooded areas and laid them out next to each other on the neighbourhood's main street.

Military police spokesman Marcelo de Menezes Nogueira told TV Globo that these deaths had not yet been registered.

"In 36 years in the favela, during which I have witnessed several operations and massacres, I have never seen anything like what I am seeing today," activist Raul Santiago, who helped recover the bodies, told TV Globo. He described it as "brutal and violent on an unprecedented scale."

On Tuesday, security forces and criminals engaged in hours of fighting in the Alemão and Penha favelas in northern Rio de Janeiro.

At least 2,500 police officers were involved in the operation, which also included two helicopters and dozens of armoured vehicles. Criminals set barricades and cars on fire, dropped explosive devices from drones and opened fire on the officers.

The Comando Vermelho is one of the largest criminal syndicates in the South American country and is primarily active in drug trafficking.

According to the authorities, a regional leader of the group and the financial head of one of the gang's top bosses were detained during the operation. Police also seized more than 90 automatic weapons and over 200 kilograms of drugs.