Toxicology findings and federal drug charges are sharpening questions about potent derivatives sold through ordinary retail outlets.
OXFORD, Miss. — The deaths of two University of Mississippi students are drawing new scrutiny to potent kratom derivatives after toxicology testing detected several kratom-related compounds and federal authorities charged two Oxford store workers with possessing controlled substances with intent to distribute.
The investigation is highlighting an important distinction between natural kratom and newer derivative products that can contain federally controlled compounds. Authorities say Aidan Hamilton, 18, and Robert Strang, 20, had mitragynine, MGM-15 and MGPI in their systems, according to a federal filing. Similar substances were associated with Smax Mango Breeze pills recovered from their rooms. Investigators have not announced that those compounds caused either death.
Kratom comes from a tree native to Southeast Asia and has stimulant effects at lower doses and sedating effects at higher doses. Natural kratom is not broadly prohibited under federal law, though states and local governments have adopted varying restrictions. The federal case in Oxford focuses on derivatives that authorities say are controlled substances, making the legal status of a product depend in part on what compounds it contains rather than simply whether it is marketed as kratom.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Mississippi has identified derivatives including MGPI, MGM-15 and MGM-16 as Schedule I controlled substances. Federal officials say such compounds can be far more potent than traditional kratom leaf products. That distinction has become central to the investigation because the products were sold in packaging resembling ordinary retail supplements or convenience-store merchandise rather than prescription medication.
Local authorities had already begun calling for stronger action before the newest toxicology information emerged. Lafayette County Metro Narcotics said its initial public warning about kratom was meant as a precaution and was not a declaration that kratom caused either student’s death. The agency later urged Mississippi lawmakers to examine state controlled-substance laws and the sale of chemically altered kratom products.
Hamilton, a freshman from Colorado, and Strang, a junior from Georgia, died Sept. 21 in separate locations. Hamilton was found in a campus dormitory, while Strang was found off campus. Packages containing suspected kratom derivatives were recovered during both investigations. Authorities have said there was no confirmed evidence that the deaths themselves were connected, even though investigators encountered similar products in both cases.
The inquiry led authorities to Puffs Vape, Tobacco and Beer in Oxford, where bank records showed Hamilton had made several purchases in September. Investigators allege store manager Yahya Mohamed Mosleh, 51, later sold kratom-based pills to a confidential informant during an undercover operation. Police searched the store and seized about 500 units of kratom and kratom-like merchandise, along with suspected THC products.
Yahya Mosleh and his 18-year-old son, Islam Yahya Mosleh, were arrested and each charged federally with possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. Investigators said products seized from the business included merchandise matching Smax Mango Breeze packaging linked to Hamilton’s investigation. Prosecutors have not charged the men with causing either student’s death, and their attorneys have declined to comment publicly.
Investigators say Strang appears to have obtained his pills from a different retailer outside Lafayette County. That detail has broadened the inquiry beyond a single Oxford business and added to concerns that similar products may have been available through multiple stores. Authorities have continued tracing purchases and testing seized merchandise as they work to determine where the products came from and what they contained.
Oxford and Lafayette County have imposed local restrictions on kratom, while Mississippi regulates sales at the state level. The investigation has nevertheless raised questions for law enforcement about how rapidly changing synthetic or concentrated products fit within existing laws and whether retailers and buyers can readily distinguish controlled derivatives from less restricted forms of kratom.
Federal, state and local investigators continue examining the deaths, the retail supply chain and laboratory evidence. The toxicology findings establish that kratom-related compounds were present in both students’ systems, but officials have not released final findings assigning a cause of death. The criminal charges against the Moslehs also remain allegations that must be proven in court.
Author note: Last updated October 4, 2026.