OXFORD, Miss. – Two Oxford, Mississippi vape store clerks are facing federal drug charges after investigators say they traced purchases made by two University of Mississippi students before their deaths, according to court documents detailing.

Yahya Mohamed Mosleh and Islam Yahya Mosleh are each charged with possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, the documents show. 

According to a DEA affidavit, bank records linked Aidan Hamilton to purchases at Puffs Vape Tobacco & Beer and Robert Strang to Express Mart #7 before investigators recovered similar suspected kratom products at both death scenes.

Authorities also described undercover purchases and the seizure of more than 500 suspected kratom-related products from the Oxford vape shop.

In a statement Wednesday, Lafayette County Metro Narcotics, a department in the sheriff’s office, stopped short of declaring that investigators found kratom itself near either student.

“During the investigations, packaging associated with kratom-related products was discovered at both locations,” part of the statement read.

The Sept. 25 affidavit reported toxicology results from the medical examiner were still pending.

Yahya Mohamed Mosleh was arrested and charged with possession of schedule I controlled substances with intent to distribute after a search warrant was executed at a vape store in Oxford, according to reports. Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office

Islam Mohamed, 18, was also arrested and charged with possession of schedule I controlled substances with intent to distribute in Oxford. Lafayette County Sheriff’s Office

American Kratom Association Senior Fellow on Public Policy Mac Haddow said Wednesday during a press conference that the specific drug found near both students is illegal.

Haddow pointed out the sale and possession of kratom has been illegal federally as of August and illegal to sell or possess in Oxford, Mississippi since 2019, and illegal in Lafayette County, where Oxford is located, since 2021.

The affidavit dated Sept. 25 says investigators were still awaiting toxicology results from the medical examiner at the time.

The charges come as officials await the toxicology results from the deaths of Ole Miss students Aidan Hamilton, 18, and Robert Strang, 20.

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Both students were found dead with similar packages of synthetic kratom found to be in their possession, court documents say.

The Moslehs aren’t accused in either death.

Packaging on the kratom items found near both men was labeled “Smax, Pseudo-DHM” tablets, which is a “Kratom-like substance at gas stations or tobacco shops” that people buy for the “narcotic-like effect,” according to the court documents.

In September, Hamilton made multiple purchases at Puffs Vape, Tobacco and Beer Store in Oxford, where employees Yahya Mohamed Mosleh, 51, and Islam Mohamed, 18, were arrested Friday on a state-level charge of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, according to officials.

Aidan Hamilton, one of the University of Mississippi students who died. Hamilton family

Robert Strang, a student at Ole Miss, was one of two University of Mississippi students found dead at an off-campus residence in Lafayette County in September 2026. Family handout

Court documents did not establish that the kratom discovered near Hamilton at the time of his death originated from that store.

One of those purchases occurred the day before Hamilton was found dead.

According to court records, a confidential law enforcement informant visited Puffs Vape, Tobacco and Beer Store and inquired whether the store carried “7 O Kratom based pills.”

In September, Hamilton made multiple purchases at Puffs Vape, Tobacco and Beer Store (pictured) in Oxford. Google Maps

A store clerk responded “yes,” then opened a drawer beneath the register and produced a package of kratom.

Mosleh allegedly told the informant to “be quiet” about the pills and to be careful taking them because “people were dying from them.”

Over 500 units of kratom were seized from the vape store along with THC cartridges, gummies, pre rolls, and other suspected THC substances.