OXFORD, MISSISSIPPI — Federal prosecutors charged Yahya Mohamed Mosleh and his son Islam Yahya Mosleh with selling an illegal kratom product. The charges are linked to the deaths of two University of Mississippi students, Aidan Hamilton and Robert Strang.

Hamilton and Strang were found dead on September 21 in different locations, one on campus and one off campus. Federal prosecutors stated that both deaths appear consistent with drug overdoses. It is not yet clear whether kratom contributed to either death.

Hamilton was a freshman from Englewood, Colorado. Robert Strang was a junior from Atlanta, Georgia. Bank records show Hamilton made multiple purchases in September from a vape, tobacco and beer store in Oxford, Mississippi.

On September 24, a DEA informant purchased kratom-based pills from Yahya Mohamed Mosleh at the store. Yahya Mohamed Mosleh warned the informant to "be careful taking the pills because people were dying from them." Yahya Mohamed Mosleh told the informant to be quiet when other customers entered the store and pushed the kratom pills out of sight. Islam Yahya Mosleh was working behind the counter at the time of the informant's purchase. Authorities detained Yahya Mohamed Mosleh and Islam Yahya Mosleh after the informant purchase.

The defendants appeared before a magistrate judge on Thursday. The magistrate judge ruled there was sufficient evidence to charge the defendants.

Attorneys Scott Davis and AE Harlow Jr. represented Yahya Mohamed Mosleh and Islam Yahya Mosleh respectively. Attorneys Scott Davis and AE Harlow Jr. stated they had no comment.

Investigators found opened packages of a kratom product labeled "Smax" in Hamilton’s room. A package of Smax was found in Robert Strang’s room. The affidavit states Robert Strang bought the Smax package from a different store.

Agents recovered more than 500 units of synthetic kratom, along with THC cartridges, gummies and other suspected narcotics from Puffs Vape, Tobacco and Beer. Law enforcement said packaging associated with kratom-related products was found at each of the scenes where the two Ole Miss students died.

A DEA affidavit stated that one of the banned compounds was listed as an ingredient in products seized from the Oxford store and Hamilton’s room. The DEA banned three kratom-related compounds in August.

The Lafayette County Metro Narcotics Unit stated the investigation remained active and additional charges were possible. Lafayette County Metro Narcotics said investigators are waiting on official autopsy and toxicology findings from the Mississippi State Medical Examiner's Office.

Kratom is legal at the federal level in the United States. Eleven states have banned kratom. Mississippi regulates kratom by requiring buyers to be 21 or older. The city of Oxford, Mississippi, has implemented a ban on kratom.

Kratom comes from a tree native to Southeast Asia. Kratom acts as a stimulant at low doses and a sedative at high doses. 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.

Proponents say the danger is from kratom derivatives, which are often synthetic and can be highly potent. Kratom has been linked to deaths in rare cases, though it was typically used with other drugs, making its role in those deaths unclear, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Timeline

Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves announced the expedited toxicology reports in a statement on September 23. Two state agencies are working to expedite toxicology reports for the students.

What's New

Hamilton, 18, had no prior disciplinary actions or academic violations at the University of Mississippi, per university records released on October 3, 2026. On September 24, an informant purchased kratom-based pills from Yahya Mohamed Mosleh at the store, and he warned the informant to 'be careful taking the pills because people were dying from them.' Yahya Mohamed Mosleh and Islam Yahya Mosleh appeared in federal court on Thursday, where a judge ruled there was probable cause to hand down federal charges against the two men.

Yahya Mohamed Mosleh, 51, had no prior criminal record in Mississippi as of October 2026, according to Lafayette County Sheriff's Office records. Islam Yahya Mosleh, 18, was a minor with no prior arrests or citations in Oxford, Mississippi, as documented by the Oxford Police Department.

Why It Matters

This case shows the regulatory complexities surrounding kratom, a substance that remains legal at the federal level but is banned in eleven states and restricted in others. The charges stem from the deaths of two university students, raising questions about the safety of kratom derivatives and the enforcement of local bans in Oxford, Mississippi, where the sale of such products is prohibited.

The investigation involves multiple agencies, including the DEA and local narcotics units, and awaits toxicology results to determine the precise role of kratom in the students' deaths. The presence of banned compounds in seized products and the defendants' alleged warnings to an informant indicates the potential dangers associated with unregulated kratom derivatives, which proponents distinguish from pure leaf forms.