OXFORD, Miss. — The owner of a vape and tobacco store near the University of Mississippi campus was indicted in 2022 for allegedly trafficking hundreds of doses of an illegal synthetic drug and fled the country before he could be prosecuted, according to court documents and Mississippi authorities, as investigators continue to probe the separate deaths of two Ole Miss students whose bodies were found near packaged kratom.
The case against Amer Alowdi, 40, who owns Puffs Vape, Tobacco and Beer Store on Heritage Drive in Oxford, gained renewed attention after two University of Mississippi students — freshman Aidan Hamilton, 18, of Englewood, Colorado, and junior Robert Strang, 20, of Atlanta — were found dead in separate locations earlier this week. Kratom packages were discovered at both scenes. Authorities have not confirmed any direct link between Alowdi’s store and the student deaths, and Mississippi Department of Public Safety Commissioner Sean Tindell told reporters he does not believe the two cases are connected. Toxicology results are expected within days, and investigators say more arrests related to the store may follow.
Metro Narcotics agents raided Puffs Vape, Tobacco and Beer Store on Thursday, Sept. 24, after receiving tips that illegal substances were being sold from the location, which sits roughly a mile from the Ole Miss campus. Agents first conducted a controlled purchase of illegal substances from the business before securing and executing a search warrant. During the search, they seized more than 500 units of kratom, along with THC cartridges, gummies, and other suspected narcotics, according to an Oxford Police Department statement. Two employees — Yahya Mohamed Mosleh, 51, and Islam Mohamed, 18, both of Oxford — were arrested and charged with possession of Schedule I controlled substances with intent to distribute. The store’s owner, Alowdi, was not present. Oxford police noted that Alowdi had been indicted on narcotics trafficking charges in 2022 and fled the country before prosecution could proceed. Tindell said the state is preparing “enhanced efforts” targeting anyone attempting to sell unlawful products in and around Oxford.
Court documents reviewed by Fox News Digital show that investigators had been tracking Alowdi for years before the 2022 indictment. In March 2020, agents from the Lafayette County Metro Narcotics Unit visited a Texaco gas station with a convenience store on Lamar Boulevard in Oxford — another business described in documents as “owned and operated” by Alowdi — and made two controlled purchases of cartridges believed to contain an illegal synthetic cannabinoid. Weeks later, on March 20, 2020, two agents followed Alowdi from his store to a warehouse in Tupelo, Mississippi, where he and two other men were observed loading boxes into vehicles, including a yellow Penske box truck. Agents pulled Alowdi over on his way back to Oxford, citing an alleged speeding violation. With his consent, they searched the vehicle and seized vape products, cartridges suspected to contain the illegal cannabinoid, and boxes of Viagra. Alowdi was not arrested that day, but investigators told him he could face additional charges once crime lab results were returned. The documents also indicate investigators suspected Alowdi had ties to other retail locations throughout Mississippi. The 2022 grand jury indictment centered on allegations that he trafficked hundreds of doses of an illegal synthetic cannabinoid. If convicted, Alowdi could face up to 40 years in prison and a $1 million fine.
A Department of Homeland Security source told Fox News Digital that all three men facing charges — Alowdi, Mosleh, and Islam Mohamed — were born in Yemen and are naturalized U.S. citizens. According to the source, Mosleh entered the United States in 1992, Alowdi entered in 2014, and Islam Yahya Mohamed Mosleh entered in February 2024. In 2024, Alowdi filed a motion to have his trafficking charges dismissed. A court denied that motion. It remains unclear how Puffs Vape, Tobacco and Beer Store remained open and operating after Alowdi’s 2022 indictment and departure from the country. The possession, distribution, and sale of kratom has been banned within the City of Oxford since 2019, according to police. While kratom is legal in many parts of Mississippi and across much of the United States, Lafayette County — where Ole Miss is located — prohibits it. Investigators emphasized that the raid on the store is an active investigation and that additional charges and arrests are possible. “This investigation does not end with these arrests,” Oxford police said in a written statement. “These individuals and this business are not necessarily the only people involved in the illegal distribution of these products, and they should not expect to be the last arrests made as our enforcement efforts continue.”
The deaths of Hamilton and Strang, which occurred earlier this week, have prompted intense scrutiny of kratom and other substances circulating near the Ole Miss campus. Hamilton, a freshman, was reportedly found at a male dormitory on campus, while Strang, a Phi Delta Theta fraternity member, was found at an off-campus home, according to The Daily Mississippian. Lafayette County dispatch recordings obtained by a local television station captured emergency responders relaying that a subject was not believed to be breathing and that CPR instructions were being given over the phone. Officials have not confirmed causes of death, and the Lafayette County Metro Narcotics Unit stated that it does “not have confirmed information indicating that kratom or any other substance was a contributing factor in either death.” Autopsies for both students have been completed, and Commissioner Tindell said the state medical examiner is finalizing toxicology reports that will be shared with the Lafayette County Coroner “very soon.” Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves pledged state resources to expedite the toxicology process, which typically takes weeks but could be completed in a matter of days given the urgency of the case. Classmates have also circulated warnings about a powerful synthetic opioid called cychlorphine, which they said can require multiple doses of the overdose-reversal drug Narcan to counteract.
Nolan Brooks, an Ole Miss graduate student who works in a business adjacent to Puffs Vape, described the scene during Thursday’s raid. “I think there were like four to five cars. One went all the way over to the back. They all came inside and they were in there for hours. They closed down the whole place and everything,” Brooks said. He added that he wished authorities had moved sooner: “I don’t know why they haven’t like cracked down on that sooner, but you know, at least they’re cracking down on it now.” On the student deaths, Brooks said: “They’re way younger than me. I didn’t have any relationship with them but it’s still sad. You know, they’re students here so, it’s just, they’re Rebels.” Mac Haddow, a representative for the American Kratom Association, an industry advocacy group, issued a statement offering condolences to the families while urging caution before drawing conclusions. “We’re not defending a product involved in these deaths because no one yet knows what that product, if any, caused them,” Haddow said. He noted that bad actors sometimes deceptively market illicit or chemically altered products under the label of natural kratom. Oxford police separately warned the public to “avoid kratom and any other medication or substance that was not prescribed to you or obtained from a trusted, regulated source.”
Tindell also noted that if toxicology results confirm fentanyl played a role in either student’s death, Mississippi’s Parker’s Law — enacted in 2022 — could be used to pursue criminal charges against whoever supplied the drug. “Under Parker’s Law, criminal charges may be pursued when an unlawful delivery of fentanyl results in a person’s death,” Tindell said. “If the investigation establishes those circumstances, law enforcement will work with prosecutors to pursue the appropriate charges and hold those responsible accountable.” Mosleh and Islam Mohamed remain in custody facing felony drug charges. Alowdi remains a fugitive abroad, and Oxford police said additional charges against him are possible as the investigation continues. The Lafayette County Coroner is expected to receive the completed toxicology reports for Hamilton and Strang within days, at which point investigators will determine the next steps in both the student death cases and the broader narcotics probe surrounding Puffs Vape.
