Oxford vape shop clerks charged in deaths of two Ole Miss students over kratom sales

Federal prosecutors have charged 51-year-old Yahya Mohamed Mosleh and his 18-year-old son, Islam Yahya Mosleh, with possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance after a police investigation connected their vape shop, Puffs Vape Tobacco & Beer, to the deaths of two University of Mississippi students. The shop, located less than a mile from the campus, allegedly sold kratom to 18-year-old student Aidan Hamilton, who made multiple purchases, including one the day before his death. Oxford police noted that the city has banned the possession, sale and distribution of kratom since 2019. A police informant reported that a clerk warned him to be cautious because "people were dying from them," according to an affidavit. Officers later seized about 500 kratom units, valued at roughly $1,800, from the store. The shop's owner, Amer Alowdi, fled the country while facing separate drug-trafficking charges from 2022. A second student, 20-year-old Robert Strang, who died on the same day as Hamilton, is believed to have obtained kratom from a nearby gas-station convenience store, Express Mart #7, which police also searched and collected pills for analysis.