Hollidaysburg man pleads guilty to drug trafficking
Ranger accused of leading ‘large trafficking operation’ in area
Trending
A Hollidaysburg man pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to charges of drug trafficking and money laundering, according to U.S. Attorney Troy Rivetti.
Olubayo Mudada Mensah Ranger, 45, pleaded guilty to eight counts before U.S. District Judge Stephanie L. Haines.
Ranger was arrested in June after a monthslong investigation into drug trafficking in the area. At the time of his arrest, police noted that Ranger had been selling cocaine in the greater Altoona area for about 20 years.
Altoona police and officers with the Blair County District Attorney's Office investigated what they called a "large trafficking operation" led by Ranger and assisted by Anthony Dwight Branch, 43.
Officers learned that Ranger and Branch would travel almost monthly by bus from State College to New York City.
On June 16, the duo went again on a bus to New York, where surveillance units observed Ranger travel to an area in New Jersey known for drug distribution while Branch met with an individual with a history of drug distribution in the Washington Heights area. Ranger and Branch then traveled by bus back to State College from New York City on Wednesday, police reported.
Officers followed the pair until they passed the Blair County line on I-99, at which point a traffic stop was made.
An open air sniff by a K-9 officer yielded a positive alert for narcotics and a special agent with Homeland Security applied for and received a search warrant, granted by a federal magisterial district judge.
A search of the vehicle and luggage turned up four individually wrapped and stamped kilograms of cocaine worth about $400,000; a gallon bag containing about 500 grams of cocaine worth about $50,000; and about 100 pressed methamphetamine pills worth about $2,000, according to the affidavit.
According to federal court documents, Ranger is accused of conspiring to possess with intent to distribute and distribute five kilograms or more of a mixture and substance containing cocaine. On four dates between September 2024 and early October 2025, Ranger committed money laundering by making cash deposits into bank accounts and/or issuing auto loan payments from those accounts using proceeds from the drug conspiracy.
In addition, on Dec. 29, 2025, Ranger knowingly engaged and attempted to engage in a monetary transaction in an amount greater than $10,000 by or through a financial institution using proceeds of the unlawful activity.
The investigation into Ranger's activities began in October 2025, court documents state, and agents and local police officers regularly surveilled him conducting hand-to-hand drug transactions with individuals in the Altoona area.
Ranger is set to be sentenced on Feb. 25, 2027. The law provides for a maximum sentence of up to life in prison, a fine of up to $10 million, or both.
According to online court documents, Ranger faces a felony charge of possession with intent to deliver, a felony charge of conspiracy and a misdemeanor charge of possession of drug paraphernalia related to his arrest in Blair County.
Bail has been denied and he has been in prison since his initial arrest in June. A preliminary hearing in the Blair County case has been continued several times and is now set for Nov. 19 before Magisterial District Judge Matthew Dunio.
Branch has also been in prison since his June arrest on two felony charges of possession with intent to deliver, a felony charge of conspiracy and a misdemeanor charge of possession of drug paraphernalia. Bail has also been denied in his case due to the "large trafficking operation," court documents state.