A helicopter pilot implicated in a massive cross-border drug smuggling ring has been identified as one of two people murdered in Kelowna earlier this week.
Jeremy Daniel Snow, 33, and mother-of-two Tiffany June Goruk, 30, were found in a crashed Cadillac Escalade on Monday night.
The SUV had driven into a light standard and investigators quickly determined that they did not die as a result of the crash but were slain, because of their injuries. A man seen running away from the scene was tracked to a nearby wooded area but escaped.
Cpl. Dan Moskaluk said that the crime is targeted and the general public is not at risk. Goruk had no criminal record.
In 2009, Snow was one of eight Canadians arrested for using helicopters to transport millions of dollars of drugs between remote areas of B.C. to Washington and Idaho.
During the investigation, dubbed Operation Blade Runner, police seized more than 340 kg of marijuana, 83 kg of cocaine and 240,000 ecstasy tablets, valued between $10 million and $15 million, plus a large amount of cash, guns and two helicopters.
Snow and his co-pilot, Samuel Lindsay-Brown, were accused of transporting B.C. bud out of Canada and trading it for cocaine south of the border.
Lindsay-Brown hung himself while in police custody in Washington State, while Snow was sentenced to nearly four years in prison for his role.
The helicopter was owned by an associate of Clayton Rouche, the founder of the UN Gang. He is currently serving a 30-year prison term in the U.S.
A Facebook memorial page for Goruk describes her as a loving mother of two young boys.
One commenter wrote: “Words can’t express the loss of such a young amazing woman who had her whole life In front of her. Heaven has gained an angel and at the same time this world has lost one.”
RCMP have started a designated tip line for any information in the case. That number is 1-888-688-4264, file SE 2013-1500.
