OXFORD, Miss. — Toxicology reports in the suspicious deaths of two University of Mississippi students are expected to be completed as early as next week, according to the state’s commissioner of public safety, and Oxford police have separately announced arrests in connection with a raid on a tobacco shop accused of trafficking narcotics.
The victims have been identified as Robert Strang, a 20-year-old junior from Atlanta, and Aidan Hamilton, an 18-year-old freshman from Colorado. Both families have asked for privacy and compassion as they mourn the loss of their sons.
It remains unclear how the students died, but narcotics detectives are involved in investigations into both of their deaths. If the reports find fentanyl, there is a special Mississippi law that can be used to target whoever sold it, according to authorities.
“Under Parker’s Law, enacted in 2022, criminal charges may be pursued when an unlawful delivery of fentanyl results in a person’s death,” Sean Tindell, the commissioner of Mississippi’s Department of Public Safety, told Fox News Digital. “If the investigation establishes those circumstances, law enforcement will work with prosecutors to pursue the appropriate charges and hold those responsible accountable.”
Separately, Oxford police have announced the arrests of two men in a narcotics investigation connected to a local tobacco shop. It’s not immediately clear whether the raid has any connection to the student deaths.
“At this point in time, we do not know that,” Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch told Fox News Digital about whether the arrests are connected to the deaths. “We know that, again, it’s been a very thorough situation as they are going through and making these arrests and preparing the evidence. So we don’t know at this point if they are connected at all.”
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The suspects were linked to an Oxford retail business where police allegedly found stockpiles of drugs including THC products and kratom, which is legal in many parts of the country but not in Lafayette County.
“During the search, agents recovered more than 500 units of kratom, along with an assortment of THC cartridges, gummies, and other suspected narcotics,” police said in a statement. “Kratom has been prohibited from possession, distribution, and sale within the City of Oxford since 2019.”
The store is called Puffs Vape, Tobacco and Beer Store, located in the 100 block of Heritage Drive in Oxford.
Oxford police arrested Yahya Mohamed Mosleh, 51, and Islam Mohamed, 18. Both are local residents.
In 2022, the business owner, Amer Alowdi, 40, was indicted on narcotics trafficking charges and fled the country before being prosecuted, police said in a statement. It was not immediately clear how the business remained open.
Tindell told Fox News Digital Thursday that while authorities haven’t uncovered any indications of foul play, they haven’t ruled it out either.
“Until the autopsy is reported, and the investigators have an opportunity to get statements and collect evidence, then that final determination will not be made until later,” he said.
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Without the toxicology reports, it’s also too early to determine whether kratom or other drugs were involved in the deaths. Police previously said that they found packages of kratom, which is commercially available in many places but not in Lafayette County, at both scenes.
Classmates have also circulated warnings about a powerful synthetic opioid called cychlorphine, which they say can take multiple doses of Narcan to counteract.
Gov. Tate Reeves pledged to provide state resources this week to help expedite the toxicology reports. They can typically take weeks to complete, but it may boil down to a matter of days in the Ole Miss case.
