Mississippi store clerk and son charged in sale of illegal kratom after two university students die
Federal prosecutors have charged a shop clerk and his son with possession with intent to distribute an illegal kratom product following the deaths of two University of Mississippi students, who died of suspected overdoses.
Federal prosecutors in Mississippi have charged a 51-year-old store clerk, Yahya Mohamed Mosleh, and his 18-year-old son, Islam Yahya Mosleh, with possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance after two University of Mississippi students died of suspected drug overdoses. The charges stem from the sale of kratom-based pills at a vape, tobacco and beer shop in Oxford, where investigators say the elder Mosleh warned a buyer that “people were dying from them.”
The two students, freshman Aidan Hamilton of Englewood, Colorado, and junior Robert Strang of Atlanta, were found dead in separate locations in September. State agencies are expediting toxicology reports, and the Lafayette County narcotics unit says the investigation remains active and additional charges are possible.
Bank records show Hamilton purchased the pills from the Oxford store in September. An affidavit filed by DEA special agent Michael Dassance details that an informant bought the kratom pills on September 24, and that one of the banned kratom compounds identified by the DEA was listed among the seized products.
Kratom, derived from a Southeast Asian tree, is legal at the federal level but has been banned or regulated in several states and localities. While some advocates claim pure kratom is a safe herbal supplement, authorities have warned that synthetic derivatives can be highly potent and dangerous. In August, the DEA prohibited three kratom-related compounds.
The Mosleh defendants appeared before a magistrate judge, who found sufficient evidence to proceed with the charges. Their attorneys declined to comment. The city of Oxford has also enacted its own ban on kratom sales.