Kratom products found in both deceased Ole Miss students’ rooms
Federal prosecutors announced Friday that they have charged Yahya Mohamed Mosleh, 51, and his son Islam Yahya Mosleh, 18, each with one count of possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance. The charges stem from an investigation into the recent deaths of two University of Mississippi students.
Aidan Hamilton, a freshman from Englewood, Colorado, and Robert Strang, a junior from Atlanta, were found in different locations, one on campus and the other off campus. It is still not clear whether kratom contributed to either death, but federal prosecutors said both appear consistent with drug overdoses.
A drug taskforce in Mississippi had previously urged people to avoid kratom after authorities found packages of kratom derivatives while investigating the deaths on 21 September. Two state agencies were working to expedite toxicology reports for the students, Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves said in a 23 September statement. The Lafayette County metro narcotics unit said on Thursday that the investigation remained active and additional charges were possible.
Bank records show Hamilton made multiple purchases in September from a vape, tobacco and beer store in Oxford, where the university is located, according to a federal court filing.
On 24 September, an informant sent to the store by investigators bought kratom-based pills from Yahya Mosleh, who warned the informant to “be careful taking the pills because people were dying from them,” according to an affidavit from DEA special agent Michael Dassance. Yahya Mosleh told the informant to be quiet when other customers came in and pushed the pills out of sight, completing the sale after the customers left, the affidavit says.
Authorities later detained Mosleh and his son, who was working behind the counter. The defendants appeared on Thursday before a magistrate judge, who ruled there was sufficient evidence to charge them. Attorneys Scott Davis and AE Harlow Jr, who respectively represent the elder Mosleh and Islam Mosleh, said in emails that they had no comment.
Investigators found opened packages of kratom or synthetic kratom labeled “Smax” in Hamilton’s room, with some pills missing, according to the affidavit. A package of Smax was also found in Strang’s room, though the affidavit says he bought it from a different store.
Kratom, which comes from a tree native to south-east Asia and acts as a stimulant at low doses and a sedative at high doses, is legal at the federal level. Some state and local governments have banned it, and federal authorities have issued warnings about its risks.
Proponents say that in its pure, ground-leaf form, kratom is a safe, natural herbal supplement that can help manage pain, anxiety and depression and ease the effects of opioid withdrawal. They say the danger is from kratom derivatives, which are often synthetic and can be highly potent.
In August, the DEA banned three kratom-related compounds. The 25 September affidavit said one of the banned compounds was listed as an ingredient in products seized from the Oxford store and Hamilton’s room.
Eleven states have banned kratom. Others, including Mississippi, have regulated it, in part by requiring people to be 21 or older to buy it. The city of Oxford has additionally implemented its own kratom ban.