Feds: Woodland Hills woman arrested at LAX trafficked arms to Iran

Key Points:

• Shamim Mafi, a 44-year-old Woodland Hills woman, was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on suspicion of facilitating arms sales from Iran to Sudan’s military amid the country’s deadly civil war.
• Mafi allegedly brokered deals involving drones, bombs, bomb fuses, and millions of rounds of ammunition, using an Omani shell company to move weapons and cash while evading U.S. sanctions through complex financial channels.
• The Sudanese military, involved in a conflict that has killed over 100,000 people since 2023, received weapons including Qods Mohajer-6 drones, also supplied by Iran to Russia in Ukraine, with some arms arriving from China.
• Mafi, who emigrated from Iran in 2013 and worked for Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security, used her government contacts for personal benefits and coordinated meetings with Sudanese officials in Iran, despite restrictions on women at certain facilities.
• She faces federal charges that could lead to up to 20 years in prison and is set to appear in court soon; her arrest marks the third case involving members of Los Angeles’ Iranian diaspora in recent weeks.