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The same three substances were present in the bloodstreams of two recently deceased University of Mississippi students, according to federal court documents obtained by Digital.
Ole Miss students Aidan Hamilton, 18, and Robert Strang, 20, both had Mitrogynine, and the Schedule 1 controlled substances MGM-15, and MGPI present in their bloodstreams, according to toxicology reports revealed in a court filing reviewed by Digital.
The revelations come ahead of the public release of the full toxicology report.
The three substances, according to the document, are all found in Smax-Mango Breeze pills, which investigators determined Hamilton and Strang had in their possession at the time of their Sept. 21 deaths in Oxford.
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Robert Strang and Aidan Hamilton in a split image provided by their families. (Strang family, Kathleen Hamilton/Facebook)
“During the investigations, packaging associated with kratom-related products was discovered at both locations,” Lafayette County Metro Narcotics said in a September statement.
Specifically, officers found packages of Smax Mango Breeze MGM-15 with price tags reading $39.99, each with a black smudge on the first 9, at both sites.
Law enforcement officers arrested 51-year-old Yahya Mohamed Mosleh and his son, 18-year-old Islam Mohamed Mosleh, on charges connected to a narcotics’ investigation involving an Oxford tobacco shop, Puffs Vape, Tobacco and Beer Store.
The men are facing federal drug charges after investigators say they traced purchases made by Strang and Hamilton at the store before their deaths, according to court documents.
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A package of Smax Pseudo-DHM tablets, a synthetic kratom-derived product, that authorities say was found near Aidan Hamilton when paramedics arrived. (U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi)
According to court documents, agents made a controlled purchase of the substance from Yahya Mosleh, at which time he allegedly sold them a product that was hidden in a locked container, a product which the court documents say “had been banned by local ordinance for more than 4 years.”
Shortly after the purchase, agents obtained a search warrant and conducted a search of the store where they found “the same Smax Mango Breeze MGM-15 – with the exact same packaging, exact same ingredients and exact same price tag, of $39.99 with a smudge on the 9.”
After testing the substances in a lab, agents determined the products contained Schedule 1 controlled substances – MGM-15 and MGPI. Furthermore, Strang’s and Hamilton’s bank records show they both made purchases at Puffs on the same date, according to the court documents.
“There is also probable cause to believe these drugs caused two overdose deaths in Oxford, Mississippi. The Government proved that there was probable cause that the laboratory-tested drugs taken by the two overdose victims were the same type of drugs that were seized from the Moslehs during a court-authorized search warrant,” the court documents read.
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The shocking deaths of two Ole Miss students have reverberated across campus. (Kelsie Cairns/ Digital)
The court documents also note that Yahya made the 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, Yahya Mosleh even told the informant that people were dying from similar products and to be careful. He additionally attempted to conceal his sale when other third parties entered the store, only completing it to the informant when those parties had exited,” the report read.
Yahya Mosleh will remain in custody pending trial after a federal judge found him to be “a flight risk with ties to another country,” according to the court documents.
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Islam Mosleh will be released on a $20,000 unsecured bond with conditions that include a curfew and location monitoring, according to the documents.
The owner of Puffs was indicted by a state grand jury in Lafayette County, Mississippi, for distribution of a controlled substance years ago. However, he absconded and investigators believe he is now running the store remotely from Egypt, according to the documents.
Digital contacted the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Mississippi for comment.
Digital’s Adam Sabes and Bradford Betz contributed to this report.
