The men arrested in a recent kratom bust at an Oxford retail store knowingly sold deadly products, court documents reveal.
A filing in the Lafayette County Circuit Court show that the two Ole Miss students whose deaths have garnered national attention purchased illegal products from area retailers. The students — 20-year-old Robert Strang and 18-year-old Aidan Hamilton — passed away on Sept. 21. The cause of their deaths is pending an autopsy and toxicology report.
Strang, an Atlanta native, was found dead on Van Buren Avenue, and Hamilton, from Colorado, was discovered deceased at Stewart Hall at Ole Miss. While officials are investigating their deaths separately, law enforcement noted that there was a similar kratom-like product at the sites where both passed away. Court documents show that those products were purchased at an Express Mart gas station in Water Valley and Puff’s Vape Tobacco & Beer in Oxford.
The product in question is “Smax Pseudo-DHM,” a chewable, concentrated tablet sold as a synthetic kratom-like product. The product has been banned in Oxford since 2019. According to bank records, Strang bought Smax from Express Mart on Sept. 9 and Sept. 11. Hamilton, per bank records, bought the product from Puff’s Vape Tobacco & Beer on Sept. 9, Sept. 14, and Sept. 20.
On Sept. 25, two of the employees at Puff’s Vape Tobacco & Beer — 51-year-old Yahya Mosleh and 18-year-old Islam Mohamed — were arrested and charged with possession of Schedule I controlled substances with intent to distribute. The store’s owner, who reportedly fled the country in 2022 after being indicted for trafficking narcotics, is also a person of interest in this case. The arrests followed the Lafayette Metro Narcotics Unit using an undercover informant to make a controlled purchase.
The transaction reportedly took place on Sept. 24. The informant, equipped with audio and video equipment, reportedly went into the store to buy nitrous oxide and kratom. When entering the store, the informant is said to have made contact with Mosleh. The clerk reportedly told the informant that he lacked nitrous oxide but offered marijuana from a jar of pre-rolled joints.
The informant did not buy the marijuana but instead left the store. He is said to have returned moments later and specifically asked if the store sold kratom-based pills. The clerk reportedly said he had the products and retrieved a key to open a drawer under the register and pulled out a package of kratom and placed it on the counter. The informant allegedly stated that was what he wanted, and the clerk pulled out multiple other similar packages and placed them on the counter.
At one point during the transaction, the informant was reportedly asked to keep quiet when other patrons walked in, and the clerk removed the kratom products from the counter. The informant returned to the counter after the other patrons left. When he was purchasing the products, the clerk reportedly told him to proceed with caution because they were killing people.
“Other customers entered the store, and Yahya Mohamed Mosleh then told the informant to be quiet about the pills. Mosleh then pushed the package of pills out of sight,” court documents read. “The informant walked away until the group of customers left. The informant walked back to the counter and handed the clerk $100.00. Mosleh placed the pills in a black plastic bag, tied the bag closed, and told the informant to be careful with the pills.”
Authorities also purchased similar products at the Water Valley gas station. They are currently testing the products purchased at both locations for controlled substances.
As for Puff’s Vape Tobacco & Beer, law enforcement obtained and executed a search warrant for the Oxford retailer, which led to the two arrests. At the scene, police reported that they recovered more than 500 units of kratom, along with an assortment of THC cartridges, gummies, and other suspected narcotics.
In addition to the products purchased at local retailers, both Strang and Hamilton are reported to have used other illegal substances. At Strang’s place of death, police found roughly 20 to 30 cans of nitrous oxide. The Ole Miss student’s roommates told police that Strang would use “whippets” daily. When police were initially called to the scene, they were notified that Strang had possibly taken a Xanax pill.
As for Hamilton, the freshman’s roommate told authorities that the deceased smoked “a lot of marijuana” from pens and pipes. Hamilton is said to have brought marijuana to Ole Miss from his home state and used it so much that he developed a cough. The roommate, however, said he did not know Hamilton to use hard drugs.
Gov. Tate Reeves confirmed that the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics and the Mississippi Bureau of Investigation are working with local officials to expedite the autopsies of the two individuals, but in a manner that ensures the results are not tainted. The toxicology reports are expected to give officials better insight as to what killed Strang and Hamilton.