Federal prosecutors have charged a father and son who worked at a Mississippi smoke shop in connection with the death of a University of Mississippi freshman, alleging the pair sold illegal substances tied to the incident.
According to U.S. Attorney Scott F. Leary for the Northern District of Mississippi, Yahya Mohamed Mosleh, 51, and his son Islam Yahya Mosleh, 18, face charges of possession with intent to distribute controlled substances following the death of Aidan Hamilton, 18, a freshman from Englewood, Colorado. The father and son were arrested on September 24, three days after Hamilton was discovered deceased on campus.
Authorities say Hamilton’s body was found with packages of suspected kratom derivatives, some of which had missing tablets. The U.S. Attorney's Office stated that Hamilton’s death appeared consistent with a drug overdose. Just one hour later, another student, junior Robert Strang of Atlanta, Georgia, was found dead in a separate location. Investigators also recovered suspected kratom products at that scene. Strang’s cause of death also appears consistent with a drug overdose, federal officials said.
Kratom is a plant-derived product that can produce stimulant or sedative effects depending on the dosage. Federal health authorities, such as the Food and Drug Administration, have warned about the risks of kratom, including addiction, mental health issues, and other adverse effects. While the substance remains legal under U.S. federal law, some jurisdictions, including Oxford, Mississippi, have banned its sale, possession, and use.
The Lafayette County Metro Narcotics Unit connected Hamilton’s death to Puffs Vape, Tobacco, and Beer Store in Oxford, where he had recently made purchases, according to the criminal complaint. Officers conducted a controlled buy at the shop using an undercover informant, who obtained pills marketed as "7-O Kratom.” A subsequent search of the store uncovered more than 500 units of kratom products, leading to the arrests of the Moslehs on state drug charges. Those charges were later escalated to federal offenses.
Investigators also linked Strang’s financial records to a purchase at Express Mart #7, a convenience store in neighboring Yalobusha County. Officers obtained pills from the store similar to those found with Strang and sent them for lab analysis, but as of Friday, no charges have been filed against the business or its employees.
The toxicology reports for both Hamilton and Strang remain pending, and the cases are still under investigation. Officials have not released additional details about the kratom products recovered in either death. Efforts to reach attorneys for Yahya and Islam Mosleh were unsuccessful as of Friday.