(NEW YORK) — A father and son who worked at a Mississippi smoke shop were charged by federal prosecutors in connection with one of the two Ole Miss student deaths that took place last week.
U.S. Attorney Scott F. Leary for the Northern District of Mississippi announced Friday that a criminal complaint was filed against Yahya Mohamed Mosleh, 51, and Islam Yahya Mosleh, 18, on charges with possession with the intent to distribute controlled substances in connection with the death of Aidan Hamilton.
The father and son, who were arrested last week, worked at the smoke shop that allegedly sold illegal substances to Hamilton, investigators allege.
Hamilton, a freshman from Englewood, Colorado, was found dead on campus on Sept. 21, and investigators found “packages, some with missing tablets, of suspected kratom derivatives,” according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
“The cause of death appeared to be consistent with a drug overdose,” the U.S. attorney’s office said.
An hour later, a second Ole Miss student, Robert Strang, a junior from Atlanta, was found dead in a different location, and investigators also found “packages of suspected kratom derivatives,” according to the U.S. attorney’s office.
Strang’s death was also consistent with a drug overdose, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
Kratom products contain chemicals that can increase alertness, physical energy, and talkativeness. At higher doses, users may experience sedating effects.
The FDA has warned that kratom and especially concentrated synthetic 7-OH products can carry risks, including addiction, mental health concerns and other serious adverse effects.
Some jurisdictions in the country have banned the sale of kratom. Oxford, Mississippi, has banned the sale, possession and consumption of Kratom since 2019.
Advocates have called on the Food and Drug Administration for stricter regulations on the products and bans.
Toxicology reports on both deaths are still ongoing, according to investigators.
The Lafayette County Metro Narcotics Unit was able to track Hamilton’s bank records and found that he made several purchases from Puffs Vape, Tobacco and Beer Store in Oxford, Mississippi, the federal criminal complaint said.
After an undercover informant was able to purchase pills that were advertised as 7 O Kratom pills, Lafayette County Metro Narcotics Unit officers executed a search warrant on Sept. 24 of the store and seized over 500 units of kratom, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
Mississippi investigators arrested the father and son that day and charged them with possession of Schedule I controlled substances with intent to distribute.
Attorney information for the defendants wasn’t immediately available.
The Lafayette County Metro Narcotics Unit also tracked Strang’s financial records and found he made purchases at Express Mart #7, a gas station convenience store in Yalobusha County, according to the criminal complaint.
Officers were able to go to the store and purchase similar pills to the ones found and have sent them off to crime labs for analysis, the criminal complaint said.
No one from that business has been charged as of Friday.
The investigation is ongoing.
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