Overview
- Aidan Hamilton, 18, and Robert Strang, 20, were discovered dead on Sept. 21 with similar packaged tablets nearby, and court affidavits describe the packs as Smax Pseudo‑DHM listing pseudoindoxyl and MGM‑15(DHM).
- The DEA placed mitragynine pseudoindoxyl on Schedule I on Aug. 26, making products that list pseudoindoxyl illegal to sell and a focus of the criminal probe.
- Local narcotics teams carried out controlled buys and seized more than 500 units from a vape shop, and two employees, Yahya Mosleh and his son Islam Mosleh, now face federal drug charges for possession with intent to distribute.
- Federal agents executed a search warrant at a gas station tied to Strang’s purchases and seized its kratom inventory while the owner denies the specific pills found near Strang came from his store.
- Investigators and industry groups emphasize the difference between natural kratom and chemically altered or synthetic mitragynine derivatives, and officials say pending medical examiner toxicology will be central to proving causation and guiding prosecutions or regulatory action.