Home / Crime and Justice / Kratom Deaths? Clerk, Son Charged in Student Overdose Probe
Kratom Deaths? Clerk, Son Charged in Student Overdose Probe
3 Oct
Summary
- Store clerk and son charged in connection with illegal kratom sales.
- Federal probe into University of Mississippi student deaths is active.
- Kratom product linked to deceased students' rooms and a local store.
A store clerk and his son have been charged with distributing a controlled substance after a federal investigation into the deaths of two University of Mississippi students on September 21, 2026. Authorities are examining if the illegal kratom product sold by Yahya Mohamed Mosleh, 51, and his son Islam Yahya Mosleh, 18, contributed to the students' deaths, which appear consistent with drug overdoses.
Bank records indicated one student, Aidan Hamilton, made multiple purchases from the Oxford store in September 2026. An informant purchased kratom-based pills from the clerk, who reportedly warned the informant about people dying from the product. Opened packages of a kratom product labeled "Smax" were found in both students' rooms, and investigators found a suspected link to the store.
Kratom, legal federally but banned or regulated in some states and localities, has been linked to deaths, though often in conjunction with other drugs. The DEA has banned certain kratom-related compounds, some of which were found in products seized from the store and Hamilton's room. Eleven states have banned kratom, and Oxford has its own ban.
