A California woman has been arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on suspicion of trafficking weapons on behalf of the Iranian government to contacts in Africa, including Sudan. Shamim Mafi, 44, of Woodland Hills was detained on Saturday night by federal agents, according to Bill Essayli, first assistant US attorney for the central district of California.
Mafi is charged with brokering the sale of drones, bombs, bomb fuses and millions of rounds of ammunition manufactured. She has been a lawful permanent resident of the US since 2016 and frequently travels to Iran, Turkey and Oman. From 2013 to 2016 she lived in Istanbul, Turkey, and told federal officials that her first husband was an officer for Iran’s ministry of intelligence and security.
According to a criminal complaint, Mafi and an unnamed co-conspirator allegedly brokered weapons deals through their company Atlas International. In one deal, Mafi facilitated the sale of Iranian-manufactured drones by the Iranian government to Sudan’s ministry of defence, a contract valued at more than €60m. Mafi is reported to have earned $6m euros after coordinating the Sudanese delegation’s travel to Iran.
Sudan has been embroiled in a civil war since 2023, which has killed hundreds of thousands of civilians and displaced over 13 million people. Social media images show Mafi posing with weapons at a warehouse in Turkey and enjoying a beach day in California. If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in federal prison and is expected to appear in court on Monday at the US district court in Los Angeles.
