Oxford clerk and son charged with illegal kratom sales amid Ole Miss student death probe
Federal prosecutors have charged an Oxford, Mississippi, store clerk and his son with selling an illegal kratom product as authorities investigate the deaths of two University of Mississippi students.
The charges, announced Friday, mark the latest development in a case that has focused attention on kratom regulation and retail sales near the university campus. The defendants each face one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, the Justice Department said.
A Mississippi drug task force had already urged people to avoid kratom after authorities found packages of kratom derivatives while investigating the deaths on Sept. 21. Kratom is an herbal substance that acts as a stimulant at low doses and a sedative at higher doses.
It is still unclear whether those substances contributed to either death, but federal prosecutors said both deaths appear consistent with drug overdoses. Gov. Tate Reeves said last week that two state agencies were working to expedite toxicology reports for the students. Lafayette County Metro Narcotics said Thursday that the investigation remained active and that additional charges were possible.
According to a federal court filing, bank records show that one of the students, Aidan Hamilton, made multiple purchases in September from a vape, tobacco and beer store in Oxford, where the university is located.
On Sept. 24, an informant sent to the store by investigators purchased kratom-based pills from the clerk, Yahya Mohamed Mosleh, 51, who warned the informant to “be careful taking the pills because people were dying from them,” DEA Special Agent Michael Dassance said in an affidavit.
Authorities arrested Mosleh and his 18-year-old son, Islam Yahya Mosleh, who was working at the store. Each faces one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, the Justice Department said in a statement Friday.
Scott Davis, an attorney for the elder Mosleh, and A.E. Harlow Jr., an attorney for Islam Mosleh, said in emails that they had no comment. The defendants appeared Thursday before a magistrate judge, who ruled that there was sufficient evidence to charge them.
Kratom comes from a tree native to Southeast Asia. It is legal at the federal level, but some state and local governments have banned it, and federal authorities have issued warnings about its risks.
Proponents say that in its pure, ground-leaf form, kratom is a safe, natural herbal supplement that can help manage pain, anxiety and depression and ease the effects of opioid withdrawal. They say the danger comes from kratom derivatives, which are often synthetic and can be highly potent.
According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, kratom has been linked to deaths in rare cases, though it was typically used with other drugs, making its role in those deaths unclear.
In August, the DEA banned three kratom-related compounds. In his Sept. 25 affidavit, the DEA agent said one of the banned compounds was listed as an ingredient in products seized from the Oxford store and Hamilton’s room.
Hamilton, a freshman from Englewood, Colorado, and Robert Strang, a junior from Atlanta, were found in different locations, one on campus and the other off campus. Investigators found opened packages of a kratom product labeled “Smax” in both students’ rooms, according to the Justice Department. The department said investigators then found a suspected link between those packages and the store where the Moslehs worked.
Yahya Mosleh told the informant who went to the store on Sept. 24 to be quiet when other customers came in and pushed the kratom pills out of sight. When the customers left, he completed the sale, according to the affidavit, again warning the informant to be careful.
Eleven states have banned kratom. Others, including Mississippi, have regulated it, in part by requiring buyers to be 21 or older. The city of Oxford has also implemented its own kratom ban.
The case is likely to intensify debate over how local bans and federal legality intersect, particularly around college campuses where such products are sold. For now, prosecutors have not alleged that the kratom products directly caused the students’ deaths, and the investigation remains open.