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Two men have been arrested on drug charges in Oxford, Mississippi, just days after a pair of University of Mississippi students were found dead in separate incidents.
Police raided a tobacco and vape shop near the Ole Miss campus and recovered more than 500 units of kratom along with THC cartridges, gummies, and other suspected narcotics, the Lafayette County Metro Narcotics Unit announced Friday.
Yahya Mohamed Mosleh, 51, and Islam Mohamed, 18, both of Oxford, were booked for possession with intent to distribute.
Meanwhile, the shop’s owner, Amer Alowdi, 40, was indicted for trafficking narcotics in 2022 – but he fled the country before prosecution, police said.
Authorities have not confirmed a connection between the business and the two Ole Miss students.
The students died in separate incidents on Monday, but “packaged Kratom sold from a retail store” was discovered at both scenes, police said.
“Kratom has been prohibited from possession, distribution, and sale within the City of Oxford since 2019,” the narcotics unit confirmed Friday.
Freshman Aidan Hamilton, 18, and junior Robert Strang, 20, were identified as the youngsters who died in the college tragedy.
Strang, from Atlanta, was remembered as a “dear son” and identified as a co-chairman of the 2026 Rush for the Phi Delta Theta fraternity.
Hamilton, from Colorado, was a “bright, wonderful young man who was taken too soon” and “is greatly missed,” his family said.
Strang’s body was found at an off-campus house, while Hamilton was discovered in his dormitory.
