Yemen-Born Vape Shop Owner Indicted for Drug Trafficking Fled US Before Prosecution
Documents reveal a vape shop owner near Ole Miss was indicted for synthetic drug trafficking and fled the country prior to prosecution.
Court documents indicate that Amer Alowdi, the owner of a vape shop near the University of Mississippi campus, was indicted in 2022 for trafficking hundreds of doses of an illegal synthetic cannabinoid. Alowdi, 40, reportedly fled the United States before facing formal prosecution.
Alowdi owns the Puffs Vape, Tobacco and Beer Store in Oxford. Authorities raided the shop last week following investigations into the deaths of two Ole Miss students, where packaged kratom, which is illegal in Lafayette County, Mississippi, was discovered.
Authorities found 500 units of kratom and arrested two men in connection with the bust: Yahya Mohamed Mosleh, 51, and Islam Mohamed, 18. All three individuals arrested were born in Yemen and are naturalized U.S. citizens. Yahya Mohammed Ali Mosleh entered the U.S. in 1992, Alowdi in 2014, and Islam Yahya Mohamed Mosleh in February 2024.
Prior to the recent arrests, Alowdi had been under scrutiny by narcotics investigators. In March 2020, agents conducted controlled purchases of cartridges suspected to contain an illegal synthetic cannabinoid from a Texaco gas station on Lamar Boulevard in Oxford, which documents state is another business owned and operated by Alowdi. Investigators observed Alowdi loading boxes from a warehouse in Tupelo, Mississippi, into vehicles, including a Penske truck.
Agents pulled Alowdi over for speeding and, with his consent, searched his vehicle, seizing vape products, cartridges believed to contain illegal cannabinoids, and boxes of Viagra. Alowdi was not arrested at that time, pending crime lab testing of the seized items. He was warned of potential charges once results were returned.
In 2024, Alowdi filed a motion to dismiss his charges, which was denied. If convicted, Alowdi could face up to 40 years in prison and a $1 million fine.