A father and son who worked at a Mississippi smoke shop have been arrested and charged in connection with the deaths of at least one university student. The students died from suspected overdoses of kratom, a substance sometimes referred to as "gas station heroin" in the US.
US prosecutors charged Yahya Mohamed Mosleh, 51, and Islam Yahya Mosleh, 18, with possession with the intent to distribute controlled substances. This is in connection with the death investigation of two University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) students last month.
A criminal complaint alleges that on 21 September, an Ole Miss student was found dead in a dorm room, with the apparent cause of death consistent with a drug overdose. Law enforcement found packages of suspected kratom derivatives, with some tablets missing. Approximately an hour later, a second student was found dead from a suspected overdose in another location, also with packages of suspected kratom derivatives.
Officials connected the packages to a local vape, tobacco, and beer store. Law enforcement executed search warrants and seized suspected kratom derivative controlled substances from the store before the Moslehs were arrested. Mississippi prosecutors stated that kratom derivatives, such as MGPI, MGM-15, and MGM-16, are now Schedule I controlled substances in the US and can be significantly more potent than natural kratom leaf products and morphine.