Father and son smoke shop workers arrested in Mississippi students' suspected kratom deaths
They are accused of selling the students derivatives of kratom, often called "gas station heroin" in the US.
Father and son smoke shop workers arrested in Mississippi students' suspected kratom deaths
Kratom is legal in some states, including Mississippi
A father and son who worked at a Mississippi smoke shop have been arrested and charged in connection with the deaths of two university students who died from suspected overdoses of kratom, sometimes referred to in the US as "gas station heroin."
The two worked at a shop that allegedly sold derivatives of the substance to University of Mississippi students.
US prosecutors charged Yahya Mohamed Mosleh, 51, and Islam Yahya Mosleh, 18, with possession with intent to distribute controlled substances in connection with the death of the Ole Miss students last month.
Although their deaths have not officially been linked to kratom, officials later issued warnings about using kratom.
The criminal complaint says that on 21 September, an Ole Miss student was found dead in his dorm room. The apparent cause of death "appeared to be consistent with a drug overdose", the US Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Mississippi said in a press release.
Law enforcement found packages of suspected kratom derivatives, with some tablets missing.
Roughly an hour later, a second student was found dead from a suspected overdose in another location, also with packages of suspected kratom derivatives.
Officials tied the packages to the local vape, tobacco and beer store, according to the US Attorney's statement.
Law enforcement carried out search warrants and seized suspected kratom derivative controlled substances from the store. The Moslehs, father and son, were later arrested.
The two students' deaths have prompted alarm and warnings from officials about the plant-based drug known as "gas station heroin".
Kratom, a herb with opioid-like effects, has become more popular in the US over the past decade and is usually bought over the counter and taken in pill or liquid form.
For years, anti-kratom advocates have sought bans, and in some countries, such as the UK, it is illegal. But kratom is not regulated by the US Food and Drug Administration and is legal in some states, including Mississippi.
The Mississippi prosecutors said 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.