Federal prosecutors in Mississippi charged a father and son who worked at an Oxford smoke shop on Friday, Sept. 26. The charges follow an investigation that linked illegal drug sales to the tragic overdose death of a University of Mississippi student. Yahya Mohamed Mosleh, 51, and his 18-year-old son, Islam Yahya Mosleh, face federal charges of possessing controlled substances with intent to distribute.
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Verify & Continue ReadingU.S. Attorney Scott F. Leary announced the criminal complaint against the two defendants following their arrests by local and federal authorities. The legal actions stem directly from an ongoing investigation into the death of freshman Aidan Hamilton, who was found dead in his campus dorm room on Sept. 21.
Investigation Links Purchases to Student Overdose Deaths
According to the Lafayette County Metro Narcotics Unit and federal court documents, investigators discovered packages of suspected kratom derivatives inside Hamilton’s room at Stewart Hall. Some of the packages had missing tablets. The U.S. Attorney’s Office stated that Hamilton’s cause of death appeared consistent with a drug overdose.
Just an hour after Hamilton was discovered, a second University of Mississippi student, 20-year-old junior Robert Strang from Atlanta, was found dead at an off-campus residence on Van Buren Avenue. Investigators recovered packages of suspected kratom derivatives at Strang’s location as well, and his death also appeared consistent with an overdose. Toxicology reports from the Mississippi State Medical Examiner’s Office remain pending for both students.
Authorities utilized financial and bank records to trace where the substances originated. Investigators discovered that Hamilton made several purchases at Puffs Vape and Beer Store in Oxford, Mississippi, with the most recent transaction occurring just the day before he was found dead. Meanwhile, financial records for Strang linked his purchases to Express Mart #7, a gas station convenience store located in Yalobusha County.
Undercover Operations and Store Raids Lead to Arrests
Following the discovery of the students’ bank records, law enforcement agents deployed a confidential informant equipped with audio and video recording devices to Puffs Vape and Beer Store on Sept. 24. According to court filings, the informant asked a store clerk if the business carried 7-OH kratom-based pills. Store clerk Yahya Mosleh allegedly answered affirmatively, pulled a package from a drawer beneath the register, and told the informant to be careful because people were dying from them.
Following the controlled buy, Lafayette County Metro Narcotics Unit officers executed a search warrant on the Oxford business on Sept. 24. Agents seized more than 500 units of kratom-related products, alongside THC cartridges, gummies, pre-rolls, and other suspected narcotics. Following the raid, law enforcement arrested Yahya Mosleh and Islam Mosleh, initially filing state-level charges before federal prosecutors stepped in with federal complaints.
Investigators also visited Express Mart #7 to purchase similar pills for crime lab analysis, though no arrests or charges have been publicly announced regarding that location as of Friday. The federal complaint notes that the seized pill packaging was labeled “Smax, Pseudo-DHM,” which are marketed at gas stations and shops for narcotic-like effects.
Legal Status of Kratom and Public Health Warnings
The arrests have brought heightened scrutiny to the sale of kratom, an herbal extract that acts as a stimulant at lower doses and a sedative at higher concentrations. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has consistently warned that kratom products-particularly concentrated synthetic 7-OH derivatives-carry significant risks, including addiction, severe mental health concerns, and other dangerous adverse effects.
Local and federal regulations regarding the substance are strict in the area. The sale, possession, and consumption of kratom have been banned within the City of Oxford since 2019, and the prohibition expanded to cover all of Lafayette County in 2021.
During a recent press briefing, American Kratom Association Senior Fellow on Public Policy Mac Haddow stated that the specific synthetic variations discovered near the deceased students are illegal under current frameworks. While law enforcement officials have emphasized that toxicology results are still pending and have not yet officially concluded that kratom caused the deaths, the retail investigation and federal drug distribution charges continue to move forward actively.
