Two Oxford, Mississippi vape store clerks are facing federal drug charges after investigators linked purchases at their shop to two University of Mississippi students found dead in September.
Yahya Mohamed Mosleh, 51, and Islam Yahya Mosleh, 18, were arrested Friday on state charges of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute. Federal charges followed after authorities traced bank records and conducted an undercover operation at Puffs Vape Tobacco & Beer, the store where the elder Mosleh worked.
The investigation began after the deaths of Aidan Hamilton, 18, and Robert Strang, 20, both Ole Miss students found with similar packages of suspected synthetic kratom products. Bank records showed Hamilton had made multiple purchases at Puffs Vape in the weeks before his death, including one transaction the day before he was found dead. Strang’s purchases were traced to Express Mart #7, a separate location.
According to a DEA affidavit dated Sept. 25, a confidential informant visited Puffs Vape and asked whether the store carried “7 O Kratom based pills.” A clerk responded affirmatively, then opened a drawer beneath the register and produced a package. The affidavit states that Mosleh allegedly told the informant to “be quiet” about the pills and to be careful taking them because “people were dying from them.”
Authorities seized more than 500 suspected kratom-related products from the Oxford vape shop during their operation. The haul also included THC cartridges, gummies, pre-rolls, and other suspected THC substances.
Packaging found near both Hamilton and Strang was labeled “Smax, Pseudo-DHM” tablets, described in court documents as a “Kratom-like substance at gas stations or tobacco shops” that people buy for the “narcotic-like effect.” The Moslehs are not accused in either student’s death, and court documents did not establish that the kratom discovered near Hamilton originated from Puffs Vape.
Lafayette County Metro Narcotics, a department in the sheriff’s office, issued a statement Wednesday that carefully worded its findings. “During the investigations, packaging associated with kratom-related products was discovered at both locations,” part of the statement read. The department stopped short of declaring that investigators found kratom itself near either student.
Toxicology results from the medical examiner were still pending at the time of the Sept. 25 affidavit, and officials continue to await those results to determine the exact cause of death for both students.
The legal status of the substances has drawn sharp comment from industry observers. Mac Haddow, senior fellow on public policy at the American Kratom Association, said during a Wednesday press conference that the specific drug found near both students is illegal. Haddow pointed out that the sale and possession of kratom has been illegal federally as of August and illegal to sell or possess in Oxford since 2019. Lafayette County, where Oxford is located, banned the substance in 2021.
The case highlights the continuing enforcement challenges around synthetic kratom products sold through retail channels near college campuses. Federal and local authorities coordinated the investigation through undercover purchases and financial tracing, building a case that now spans both state and federal court systems.
The Moslehs’ arrests mark a rare instance of federal drug charges flowing from vape shop sales linked to student deaths, even as the direct cause of those deaths remains under official investigation.
Both men remain in custody as the case proceeds through the federal court system in northern Mississippi.