Two Ole Miss students were found dead near tablets whose labels list an ingredient the federal government recently made illegal, and the product is nowhere to be found on the brand's website.
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product → find → website
According to court documents, Ole Miss students Aidan Hamilton, 18, and Robert Strang, 20, were discovered dead on Sept. 21, each found near similar packages of kratom or synthetic kratom.
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each → accord → kratom
Officials noted that Hamilton "could have died due to a Pulmonary Edema," a finding consistent with a drug overdose.
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Hamilton → note → overdose
When first responders reached Strang's house near campus, he was found "cold to the touch."
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he → reach → touch
Packaging found near both students bears the name Modus, according to court documents.
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Packaging → find → documents
The affidavit describes the tablets as Smax Pseudo-DHM, and lists pseudoindoxyl and MGM-15(DHM) among the ingredients on the pack found near Hamilton.
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affidavit → describe → Hamilton
The Drug Enforcement Administration temporarily placed mitragynine pseudoindoxyl in Schedule I on Aug. 26, which bars its sale.
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which → place → sale
A Mississippi law enforcement agent investigating the Ole Miss students' deaths said he believes "pseudoindoxyl" refers to that compound, and lab results confirming the tablets' contents are pending, court documents say.
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documents → investigate → contents
Toxicology results, which are still pending, could help determine how Hamilton and Strang died, according to the affidavit.
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Hamilton → pende → affidavit
Modus Brand, which has offices in Florida and California, doesn't list the Smax Pseudo Tablets on its website, but says the product is a "next-generation approach to botanical supplements, offering a carefully formulated, high-quality product in a convenient chewable format."
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product → have → format
While it's unclear if the Smax Pseudo Tablets were once on the Modus website, it's not listed at the moment.
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it → list → moment
In September, Hamilton made multiple purchases at Puffs Vape, Tobacco and Beer Store in Oxford.
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Hamilton → make → Oxford
Two employees at that store, Yahya Mohamed Mosleh, 51, and Islam Mohamed, 18, were arrested and face a charge of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, according to court documents.
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employees → arrest → documents
They were handed bonds of $100,000 each.
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They → hand → 100,000
Officials have said they do not believe there is any connection between the arrests and Hamilton's death.
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they → say → arrests
Court documents do not establish that the kratom found near Hamilton at the time of his death originated from that store.
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kratom → establish → store
Among his purchases, at least one transaction took place the day before Hamilton was discovered dead.
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Hamilton → take → place
Officials said the synthetic kratom-derived product Strang had bought was purchased at a gas station about 30 minutes away from Oxford, Mississippi.
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Strang → say → Oxford
The owner of that gas station told Fox News Digital that the Smax tablets found near Strang did not come from his store.
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tablets → tell → store
He said he does not put price stickers on his packages, unlike the one on the pack by Strang's nightstand.
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he → say → nightstand
He didn't dispute that his store sold Smax Pseudo Tablets.
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store → dispute → Tablets
He said that federal agents seized all of his kratom inventory on Friday.
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agents → say → Friday
Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Fox News Digital it's illegal for anyone to sell products containing MGM-15 after the DEA rescheduled it, but prosecuting it is trickier.
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prosecuting → tell → it
"It would be unlawful for anyone, whether it's a drug dealer or a gas station convenience store owner, to sell MGM-15 after it was categorized as Schedule I," Rahmani said.
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Rahmani → sell → Schedule
"Now, to be prosecuted, the Department of Justice would have to prove intent.
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Department → prosecute → intent
"
Kratom is a plant, but MGM-15 and related chemicals are synthetic versions of it, and the two are "certainly not an apples-to-apples comparison," he said.
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he → say → apples
Modus, the company whose name appears on the packaging, could face civil and even criminal liability if its product is found to contain a Schedule I substance, Rahmani said.
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Rahmani → appear → substance
"There's no doubt that Modus and any company that distributed this drug can face civil, even criminal, liability.
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that → be → liability
If you put out a dangerous product, doesn't matter if it's a pharmaceutical, street drug, or really, frankly, anything else.
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it → put → product
Products liability law does hold the company responsible," Rahmani said.
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Rahmani → hold → ?
"Now, in the case of something that's outright illegal in Schedule I, there's no question that criminal liability for the distributors can attach as well, and it can be the manufacturer, it can be the street level dealer, the wholesaler, anyone in the supply chain that distributes a Schedule I drug can absolutely be held responsible.
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that → be → drug
Multiple calls and emails to Modus by Fox News Digital went unanswered.
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calls → go → Digital
Fox News Digital reached out to the FBI, DEA, Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, Lafayette County Metro Narcotics, Yahya Mohamed Mosleh and Islam Mohamed for comment.
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Digital → reach → comment
The Aporia
