# Iranian American woman arrested in Los Angeles in alleged arms trafficking case
A California woman has been arrested at Los Angeles International Airport after federal prosecutors said she helped traffic weapons on behalf of the Iranian government to contacts in Africa, including Sudan.
The Guardian reported that Shamim Mafi, 44, of Woodland Hills was detained on Saturday night by federal agents and accused of brokering sales involving drones, bombs, bomb fuses and ammunition. The case is being handled as a serious federal arms-trafficking matter because prosecutors allege the activity was not simply private criminal conduct, but work on behalf of a foreign government.
The evidence says Mafi is an Iranian national and a lawful permanent resident of the United States since 2016. It also says she maintained a US residence but traveled frequently to Iran, Turkey and Oman. Federal officials allegedly found that she and a co-conspirator used a company called Atlas International to broker weapons deals in several locations, including California.
One alleged deal involved Iranian-manufactured drones for Sudan’s ministry of defense and was valued at more than €60m. The report also says Mafi may have earned about $6m from coordinating travel for the Sudanese delegation to Iran. Those claims, if proved, would suggest a transnational network linking Iranian production, commercial intermediaries and African buyers.
The supplied material also states that Mafi told federal officials her first husband had worked for Iran’s ministry of intelligence and security. That detail may become relevant to the government’s account of how she understood the network and whom she knew, though it is not itself proof of wrongdoing.
Sudan’s ongoing civil war gives the allegations extra weight because weapons transfers into conflict zones can prolong mass violence and displacement. The Guardian excerpt notes that Sudan has endured a devastating war since 2023 and that the conflict has displaced millions. That context explains why prosecutors would treat any arms pipeline into the country as especially serious.
Mafi is expected to make her first court appearance in Los Angeles on Monday. If convicted, she faces up to 20 years in federal prison. At this stage, the public record is still one of allegations and charges, not proven guilt.
The case also reflects how sanctions, conflict and illicit procurement can blur together in international arms trafficking investigations. If prosecutors can show that a US resident was operating as an intermediary for state-linked buyers, the case could become a template for future enforcement actions against networked weapons brokers.
For now, the key point is that the allegations are broad and cross-border. They involve a resident of California, travel through multiple countries, suspected links to Iran and an alleged customer in Sudan. That combination makes the case more than a routine smuggling arrest; it is the kind of file that can develop into a wider intelligence and sanctions story.
Because the allegations link California, the Middle East and Africa, the case may also become a test of how aggressively the US can pursue brokers who sit far from the final point of delivery. Modern arms trafficking cases often rely on paper trails, travel records and corporate documents more than on a single shipment.
If prosecutors can connect the company, the travel and the alleged contract chain, the matter could extend beyond one arrest to a broader investigation of transnational procurement.
