Family arrested for manufacturing and selling clandestine weapons used children to elude police in ES | Holy Spirit

The family arrested for manufacturing, trading and distributing homemade weapons in Vitória and municipalities in the Metropolitan Region, hid the weapons in the children’s bags at the time of delivery to avoid police approaches. In total, six people were arrested, including father, mother, children, brothers and brothers-in-law. The information was released by the Civil Police this Friday (26).

Delegate Daniel Belchior, head of the Specialized Weapons, Ammunition and Explosives Police Station (Disarme), explained that to disguise the delivery of weapons, the entire family went to the destination of sale in the same car, as if they were going on a trip.

“The father, mother and son would go out, sometimes even hiding the gun in the child’s bag, so as not to attract attention”, detailed Deputy Belchior.

The delegate also explained that some members of the group had formal jobs and this was considered during the investigations as an alternative to elude the police.

“They reconciled formal activity with a criminal life. One of the women worked as a teacher, a man worked as a general service assistant, and another worked in a store that sold irons,” said the delegate.

The corporation announced that, between May and December 2023, the group sold at least 200 units, that is, a turnover of at least half a million reais.

Belchior also spoke about the complexity of investigations of this type.

“Investigations into the manufacture of homemade weapons involve not only the difficulty of tracking the weapons but also the people who manufacture them, because they do not have a profile of involvement in this type of situation, sometimes they do not have a criminal record, but due to a financial attraction end up dedicating themselves to criminal activity”, he concluded.

According to investigations, each member of the group had an established role, ranging from weapons production to delivery. The members of the scheme sold from retail to wholesale, to anyone who ordered, and charged R$2,000 to R$2,500 per “piece”.

According to the Civil Police, the scheme worked as follows:

• Edilson Manske: He is the father of the family. Appointed by the police as responsible for manufacturing the weapons.
• Wilrison Manske: son of Edilson and named as one of those who manufactured homemade weapons. He was arrested in the first phase of the operation, in December last year.
• Tiago Manske: son of Edilson. He acted as a weapons courier. Normally this “delivery” was done by car.
• Ariane Vingler Gonçalves: Wilrison’s wife. According to police, she was responsible for managing payments, in addition to helping with deliveries.
• Bruno Vingler de Sena, known as ‘Jhon Caseiras’: Ariane’s brother. He was the one who negotiated sales with customers in Greater Vitória.
• Hellen Luise Santos Silva: Bruno’s wife. She worked on weapons deliveries.

The Specialized Weapons, Ammunition and Explosives Police Station (Disarmament) discovered the scheme during Operation Legado Armeria, which began in 2023, and the investigations were completed this week.

In December, in the first phase of the operation, the factory where the weapons were produced was discovered, on a site in Cariacica, in Greater Vitória. Various materials were seized, such as a pistol and rifle.

At the time, Wilrison Manske was arrested red-handed. He is named as one of the weapons manufacturers. Investigations continued and other members of the group were identified. The surprise for the police came with the discovery that they were all part of the same family.

The arrests of the other five members of the group took place on April 23, at home and at their workplaces, in the municipalities of Serra and Cariacica.

When Wilrison Manske was arrested, he told police he learned how to make weapons online. This information triggered another investigation. Last week, websites that taught how to manufacture and also sold weapons were taken down. No one has been arrested so far.