Gas Station Owner Denies Connection to Pills Found Near Ole Miss Student's Body

<p>The owner of the gas station where investigators say Robert Strang purchased synthetic kratom has denied that the pills found near the student's body came from his store. Court documents indicate that Ole Miss students Strang, 20, and Aidan Hamilton, 18, were found dead on September 21, each discovered near similar packages of synthetic kratom. Authorities stated that Hamilton 'could have died due to a Pulmonary Edema,' a conclusion consistent with a drug overdose. First responders who arrived at Strang's residence near campus found him 'cold to the touch,' according to dispatch audio.</p><p>A narcotics agent wrote in an affidavit that the pills found near both students were Smax Pseudo-DHM, listing pseudoindoxyl and MGM-15(DHM) among the ingredients found on the pack near Hamilton. The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) temporarily placed mitragynine pseudoindoxyl in Schedule I on August 26, which prohibits its sale.</p><p>A Mississippi law enforcement agent investigating the Ole Miss students' deaths suggested that 'pseudoindoxyl' refers to that compound, and lab results confirming the pills' contents are pending, according to court documents.</p><p>After speaking with Strang's roommates, agents learned he had been buying 'Smax' pills at Express Mart #7, a gas station in Water Valley, Mississippi, approximately 20 minutes from Ole Miss. An undercover Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics agent later purchased a similar form of Smax Pseudo pills at the store. The package lists pseudoindoxyl as its ingredient, which the narcotics agent believes is short for mitragynine pseudoindoxyl.</p><p>Ibrahim Aydah, the owner of the gas station, stated he does not believe the 'Smax' pills found near Strang came from his store. He noted that he does not put price labels on his products, while the pack near Strang had a price on it, and he claimed he does not carry the 200 mg version.</p><p>Aydah said federal agents seized all of the kratom products in his store on Friday and expressed that he wished he had received notice from the federal government regarding the illegal products. 'Yes, they took all my stuff. I lost everything and it's a law,' Aydah said. 'The federal law bans it. I was shocked.'</p><p>Aydah described the raid, stating, 'You see about 15 cars [of] police, undercover, everywhere. I was at the house and I came and dropped by. I opened the office...they checked everything. They took everything.' He emphasized that he is a businessman, not a drug dealer.</p><p>When asked what he would say to the families of the students, Aydah offered condolences, saying, 'I feel sorry for the young kids who lost their lives to an overdose. You know, it hurts. I feel them. Their friends, their classmates, and everyone...you know, he's a young kid.'</p><p>A spokeswoman for the DEA confirmed that the agency executed a search warrant at the gas station on Friday, noting that it is part of an 'ongoing investigation.' She added that the August 26 scheduling order does cover products that list 'pseudoindoxyl' on the label.</p><p>Aydah has not been charged by authorities or accused of any wrongdoing. In a statement on Wednesday, Lafayette County Metro Narcotics, a department in the sheriff's office, did not confirm that investigators found kratom itself near either student. 'During the investigations, packaging associated with kratom-related products was discovered at both locations,' part of the statement read. The September 25 affidavit reported that toxicology results from the medical examiner were still pending.</p><p>Mac Haddow, Senior Fellow on Public Policy for the American Kratom Association, stated during a news conference that the specific drug found near both students is illegal. He noted that the sale and possession of some synthetic kratom has been illegal federally since August and illegal to sell or possess in Oxford, Mississippi, since 2019, and illegal in Lafayette County, where Oxford is located, since 2021.</p><p>Fox News Digital reached out to the Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics and the DEA for comment.</p>