Feds charge shop clerk, son with selling illegal kratom after 2 Ole Miss deaths

A store clerk and his son have been charged with selling an illegal kratom product as federal authorities investigate the deaths of two University of Mississippi students, prosecutors said Friday.A drug task force in Mississippi had previously urged people to avoid kratom — an herbal substance that acts as a stimulant at low doses and a sedative at high doses — after authorities found packages of kratom derivatives while investigating the deaths on Sept. 21. It is still not clear whether those substances contributed to either death, but federal prosecutors said both appear consistent with drug overdoses. Two state agencies were working to expedite toxicology reports for the students, Mississippi Gov.

Tate Reeves said in a statement last week. Lafayette County Metro Narcotics said Thursday the investigation remained active and additional charges were possible. Bank records show one of the students, Aidan Hamilton, made multiple purchases in September from a vape, tobacco and beer store in Oxford, Mississippi, where the university is located, according to a federal court filing. On Sept. 24, an informant sent to the store by investigators purchased kratom-based pills from the clerk, Yahya Mohamed Mosleh, 51, who warned the informant to "be careful taking the pills because people were dying from them," U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Michael Dassance said in an affidavit. Authorities arrested