Two University of Mississippi students who died on the same day in September had identical toxicology results, according to federal court documents that link their deaths to products purchased at an Oxford tobacco shop now at the center of a narcotics investigation.
Aidan Hamilton, 18, and Robert Strang, 20, both had Mitrogynine, MGM-15 and MGPI present in their bloodstreams, according to toxicology reports cited in a court filing. MGM-15 and MGPI are classified as Schedule 1 controlled substances. The three substances are all found in Smax-Mango Breeze pills, which investigators determined the two students had in their possession when they died on September 21 in Oxford.
The disclosure comes ahead of the public release of the full toxicology report. During the investigation, packaging associated with kratom-related products was discovered at both locations, the Lafayette County Metro Narcotics unit said in a September statement. Officers specifically found packages of Smax Mango Breeze MGM-15 with price tags reading $39.99, each marked with a black smudge on the first 9, at both sites.
Law enforcement arrested 51-year-old Yahya Mohamed Mosleh and his 18-year-old son, Islam Mohamed Mosleh, on charges connected to a narcotics investigation involving the Oxford tobacco shop Puffs Vape, Tobacco and Beer Store. The men face federal drug charges after investigators traced purchases made by Strang and Hamilton at the store before their deaths, according to court documents.
According to the filings, agents made a controlled purchase of the substance from Yahya Mosleh, who allegedly sold them a product hidden in a locked container — a product the documents say had been banned by local ordinance for more than four years. Shortly after the purchase, agents obtained a search warrant and searched the store, where they found the same Smax Mango Breeze MGM-15 with identical packaging, ingredients and the same $39.99 price tag bearing the smudge on the 9.
Laboratory testing determined the products contained the Schedule 1 controlled substances MGM-15 and MGPI. Bank records for Strang and Hamilton show both made purchases at Puffs on the same date, the documents state.
The court filing asserts there is probable cause to believe the drugs caused two overdose deaths in Oxford. It states the government proved probable cause that the laboratory-tested drugs taken by the two overdose victims were the same type of drugs seized from the Moslehs during a court-authorized search warrant.
The documents also note that Yahya Mosleh made a sale of the products to a confidential informant after Strang's and Hamilton's deaths, even warning the informant that people had been dying from the product. As the purchase was being made, he told the informant to be careful and attempted to conceal the sale when other third parties entered the store, completing it only after they exited, according to the report.
A federal judge found Yahya Mosleh to be a flight risk with ties to another country, and he will remain in custody pending trial. Islam Mosleh will be released on a $20,000 unsecured bond with conditions including a curfew and location monitoring.
The owner of Puffs was indicted by a state grand jury in Lafayette County years ago for distribution of a controlled substance. He absconded, and investigators believe he is now running the store remotely from Egypt, according to the documents.