Photo: Kamloops RCMP

Five men from Kamloops have been arrested and charged in connection to the 2018 homicide of Troy Gold. 

In a news release, Mounties say Nathan Townsend, 23; Jayden Eustache, 24; Darian Rohel, 44; John Daviss, 38; and Sean Scurt, 46, were arrested on Oct. 18 or 19 and remain in custody. 

Gold was reported missing to RCMP on Oct. 3, 2018. Shortly after, the Kamloops Serious Crime Unit (KSCU) took over the investigation and determined Gold, who had ties to the local drug trade, had been murdered.

Gold's remains were found in the Lac Du Bois area on Oct. 30. 

All of the men who were arrested this week and charged with second-degree murder are known to police for their participation in organized crime, states the release.

"Crimes that occur in the drug underworld present unique challenges for investigators. In this community, even victims and their friends refuse to co-operate with police. While our investigative teams are very skilled at obtaining co-operation and evidence needed to advance these types of cases, even long-standing participants in the local drug trade found Troy’s death be grossly unnecessary and many people were more willing to co-operate because of this. It was with the co-operation of several important witnesses, traditional and non-traditional investigative techniques, support from other teams, units and agencies and endless determination that we have brought this case to this stage," explains Staff Sgt. Simon Pillay, head of KSCU, in the release.

Pillay hopes these arrests serve as a lesson to local drug traffickers that such behaviour will not be tolerated.

In an effort to move the investigation along, RCMP are releasing the photos of the arrestees. 

Anyone with information about their involvement in the Gold case or other drug-related activities is asked to call RCMP at 250-828-3000.