Brazilian officials have indicated that at least 18 people were killed in what was deemed as the bloodiest police raid in Rio de Janeiro’s favelas on Thursday.

Among the dead is a law enforcement officer and a woman who lived in the area, while the remaining 16 victims are said to be affiliated with a criminal organization.

It is understood that the raid was specifically targeted at a criminal group that had robbed vehicles carrying cargo for banks and other businesses.

Police spokesman Ivan Blaz said the operation’s goal was to stop the “expansionist policy” of criminal gangs in Complexo do Alemão.

Activists have since denounced the killings as a brutal act of violence carried out by officials who often abuse their power and vows that justice must be served for the lives of the slain victims.

“There are signs of major human rights violations, and the possibility of this being one of the operations with the highest number of deaths in Rio de Janeiro,” the state public defender’s office said in a statement.

In the interim, President Jair Bolsonaro supports heavy-handed tactics by police in their fight against organized crime and has said gangsters should “die like cockroaches.”