Two employees of a vaping store in Oxford, Mississippi, have been jailed on federal drug charges related to the deaths of two University of Mississippi students found in possession of suspected kratom products. Court records indicate Yahya Mohamed Mosleh, 51, and his son Islam Yahya Mosleh, 18, are charged with possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, according to Fox News. Both work at Puffs Vape Tobacco & Beer, less than a mile from campus, where Aidan Hamilton, an 18-year-old student, allegedly made several purchases, including the day before his death, ABC News reports.
Oxford police say the possession, sale and distribution of kratom has been prohibited in the city since 2019. Despite this, a police informant may have purchased kratom pills from the vaping store on Sept. 24, reporting that an employee told him to be careful because “people were dying from them,” according to an affidavit. Agents say they then seized 500 units of kratom worth $1,800 from the store, whose owner, Amer Alowdi, fled the country while facing drug charges in 2022. Another Ole Miss student, Robert Strang, 20, who died separately on the same day as Hamilton, allegedly made purchases at the Express Mart #7 gas station convenience store. Officers also went to the location and purchased pills that were being analyzed, according to ABC.
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