Iranian National Shamim Mafi Arrested at LAX for Arms Trafficking to Sudan for Iranian Government

Federal authorities arrested Shamim Mafi, a 44-year-old Iranian national, at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Saturday night for allegedly trafficking arms on behalf of the Iranian government to Sudan.

“LOS ANGELES -- Federal prosecutors said a 44-year-old Woodland Hills woman was arrested Saturday night at Los Angeles International Airport on suspicion of helping Iran traffic weapons to Sudan, which is in its fourth year of a bloody civil war”

ABC7 Los Angeles

First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Bill Essayli said on Sunday that Mafi was detained after an attempt to smuggle “drones, bombs, bomb fuses, and millions of rounds of ammunition manufactured by Iran” for sale in Sudan.

ABC7 Los Angeles

Multiple outlets tied the arrest to a federal charge under “50 U.S.C. § 1705,” with Essayli stating she faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison if convicted.

The Jerusalem Post reported that Mafi was arrested after he “attempted to smuggle drones, bombs, bomb fuses, and millions of rounds of ammunition manufactured by Iran to be sold in Sudan,” and said she was expected to make an initial court appearance on Monday afternoon at a district court in Los Angeles.

The South China Morning Post similarly said Mafi “was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport” and faces up to 20 years in prison, describing her as a permanent U.S. resident who became a lawful permanent resident in 2016.

ABC7 Los Angeles said Mafi would face charges that she brokered the sale of “drones, bombs, bomb fuses, and millions of rounds of ammunition” between Iran and the Sudanese Armed Forces, and that she was expected to appear in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Monday.

Prosecutors and court filings described a weapons-brokering scheme that, according to the complaint, moved Iranian-made arms to Sudan through intermediaries and corporate structures.

The Guardian said Mafi and a co-conspirator “allegedly brokered weapons deals through their company Atlas International,” and described the illegal weapons dealing as taking place in “several locations, including in California.”

CBS News

The Los Angeles Times reported that a criminal complaint filed in Los Angeles federal court said Mafi brokered the sale of “drones, bombs, bomb fuses, and millions of rounds of ammunition” between Iran and the Sudanese Armed Forces, and said she was “set to board a flight to Turkey” when she was arrested at the airport.

Fox News said the complaint accused Mafi of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and alleged she brokered a contract worth more than “$70.6 million” for Iranian-made Mohajer-6 armed drones to Sudan’s Ministry of Defense.

ABC7 Los Angeles added that the criminal complaint dated March 12 alleged Mafi and an unnamed co-conspirator operated a company in Oman called Atlas International Business through which weapons and ammunition were trafficked, and said the company received “over $7 million in payments in 2025.”

In addition to drones and ammunition, ABC7 Los Angeles quoted the complaint stating that “Mafi submitted a letter of intent to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ("IRGC") to purchase the bomb fuses for Sudan,” tying the alleged procurement to the IRGC.

Outlets described Mafi’s alleged ties to Iranian government structures and her travel patterns as part of the case narrative.

“A Los Angeles businesswoman has been arrested for trafficking arms on behalf of the Iranian government, officials announced”

Daily Express US

The Guardian said Mafi “frequently travels to Iran, Turkey and Oman,” and reported that in an interview with federal officials, Mafi said her “first husband was an officer for Iran’s ministry of intelligence and security.”

The Los Angeles Times reported that court records show Mafi “quickly began working for Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security,” and said she used “an Omani shell company to move weapons and cash between the government and its proxies.”

The Los Angeles Times also described a WhatsApp message in July of 2024, saying a Sudanese weapons broker “WhatsApped Mafi to contract a shipment of Qods Mohajer-6 drones,” and said the complaint described “crates of $100 bills.”

It further said subsequent exchanges referenced “the complexity of moving cash to evade U.S. sanctions,” including transfers made through “hawalas, informal money-exchange systems that operate throughout the Middle East and parts of Africa.”

Fox News said the complaint alleged Mafi acknowledged communicating with “MOIS Officer-1,” and quoted the complaint’s statement that Mafi said she was “more useful to them [i.e., MOIS] in Iran than in the United States.”

Multiple outlets said Mafi was expected to appear in federal court in Los Angeles on Monday, with prosecutors emphasizing the maximum penalty and the specific statutory charge.

The Jerusalem Post said she “is expected to make an initial court appearance on Monday afternoon at a district court in Los Angeles,” and said Essayli confirmed the arrest on X/Twitter.

Fox News

KTLA said the 44-year-old Woodland Hills resident was “expected to make her initial appearance in court on Monday afternoon,” and repeated that “If convicted as charged, she faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.”

Fox News said the complaint stated she was expected to make her initial appearance “on Monday afternoon in U.S. District Court in downtown L.A.” and reiterated that she was “presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.”

CBS News similarly said she was arrested “on suspicion of trafficking weapons on the Iranian government's behalf,” and described the charge as a violation of “50 U.S.C. § 1705,” with a maximum sentence of 20 years.

The South China Morning Post said Mafi “was arrested on Saturday and faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison if convicted,” and said the post included images of her surrounded by federal agents at the airport.

Several reports connected the alleged arms trafficking to the Sudanese civil war and the humanitarian crisis described in their coverage.

“A Los Angeles woman has been arrested for trafficking arms on behalf of the Iranian government, officials announced”

KTLA

The Guardian said Sudan has been fighting a civil war since 2023 and described it as a conflict that “has killed as many as hundreds of thousands of civilians and displaced upwards of 13 million people in the region.”

KTLA

The Los Angeles Times said the Sudanese military is “locked in a bloody civil war that is estimated to have killed more than 100,000 people and displaced millions more since 2023,” and called it “the deadliest of the ongoing proxy fights among Persian Gulf countries.”

The New York Post said the civil war has “claimed between 61,000 to hundreds of thousands of lives” as it enters its fourth year, and said it has displaced “nearly nine million people.”

ABC7 Los Angeles said the Sudanese civil war has “created a humanitarian crisis in the North African country.”

The Guardian also said the contract for Iranian-manufactured drones was valued at “more than €60m,” and that Mafi “reportedly earned $6m euros in payment after “[coordinating] the Sudanese delegation’s travel to Iran”,” placing the alleged conduct in a broader operational context.