A store clerk and his son have been charged with selling an illegal kratom product as federal authorities investigate the deaths of
, prosecutors said Friday.
asserted
prosecutors → charge → deaths
A drug task force in Mississippi had previously urged people to avoid kratom —
that acts as a stimulant at low doses and a sedative at high doses — after authorities found packages of kratom derivatives while investigating the deaths on Sept. 21.It is still not clear whether those substances contributed to either death, but federal prosecutors said both appear consistent with drug overdoses.
asserted
both → urge → overdoses
Two state agencies were working to expedite toxicology reports for the students, Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said in a statement last week.
asserted
Reeves → work → statement
Lafayette County Metro Narcotics said Thursday the investigation remained active and additional charges were possible.
asserted
charges → say → ?
Bank records show one of the students,
, made multiple purchases in September from a vape, tobacco and beer store in Oxford, Mississippi, where the university is located, according to a federal court filing.
uncertain
university → show → filing
On Sept. 24, an informant sent to the store by investigators purchased kratom-based pills from the clerk, Yahya Mohamed Mosleh, 51, who warned the informant to "be careful taking the pills because people were dying from them," U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Michael Dassance said in an affidavit.
asserted
Dassance → send → affidavit
Authorities arrested Mosleh along with his 18-year-old son, Islam Yahya Mosleh, who was working at the store.
asserted
who → arrest → store
Each faces one count of possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance, the Justice Department said in a statement Friday.
asserted
Department → face → statement
Scott Davis, an attorney for the elder Mosleh, and A.E. Harlow Jr., an attorney for Islam Mosleh, said in emails that they had no comment.
asserted
they → say → comment
The defendants appeared Thursday before a magistrate judge, who ruled there was sufficient evidence to charge them.
asserted
who → appear → them
Kratom, which comes from a tree native to Southeast Asia, is legal at the federal level.
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which → come → level
But some state and local governments have banned it, and federal authorities have issued warnings about its risks.
asserted
authorities → ban → risks
Proponents say that in its pure, ground-leaf form, kratom is a safe, natural herbal supplement that can help manage pain, anxiety and depression and ease the effects of opioid withdrawal.
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that → say → withdrawal
They say the danger is from kratom derivatives, which are often synthetic and can be highly potent.
asserted
which → say → derivatives
Kratom has been linked to deaths in rare cases, though it was typically used with other drugs, making its role in those deaths unclear, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
uncertain
role → link → Administration
In August, the DEA banned three kratom-related compounds.
asserted
DEA → ban → compounds
In his Sept. 25 affidavit, the DEA agent said one of the banned compounds was listed as an ingredient in products seized from the Oxford store and Hamilton's room.
asserted
one → say → store
Hamilton, a freshman from Englewood, Colorado, and the other student who died,
, a junior from Atlanta, were found in different locations, one on campus and the other off campus.
asserted
who → die → campus
Investigators found opened packages of a kratom product labeled "Smax" in both of the students' rooms, according to the Justice Department.
uncertain
Investigators → find → Department
Investigators then found a "suspected link" between those packages and the store where the Moslehs worked, the Justice Department said in its Friday statement.
asserted
Department → find → statement
Yahya Mosleh told the informant who went to the store on Sept. 24 to be quiet when other customers came in and pushed the kratom pills out of sight.
asserted
customers → tell → sight
When the customers left, he completed the sale, according to the affidavit, again telling the informant to be careful.
uncertain
he → leave → informant
Eleven states have banned kratom.
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states → ban → kratom
Others, including Mississippi, have regulated it, in part by requiring people to be 21 or older to buy it.
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people → include → it
The city of Oxford, additionally, has implemented its own kratom ban.
asserted
city → implement → ban
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