Woman Arrested At LAX, Accused Of Trafficking Weapons For Iran: DOJ

LOS ANGELES — A Woodland Hills woman who trafficked arms on behalf of the Iranian government was arrested Saturday night at Los Angeles International Airport, a federal official said.

Shamim Mafi, 44, is charged with violating federal law by brokering the sale of drones, bombs, bomb fuses and millions of rounds of ammunition that were manufactured by Iran and sold to Sudan, according to Bill Essayli, first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California.

Mafi is an Iranian national and a lawful permanent resident of the U.S. since 2016, Essayli said in a social media post.

A criminal complaint dated March 12 alleges that Mafi and an unnamed co-conspirator operated a company in Oman called Atlas International Business through which weapons and ammunition were trafficked. The company received over $7 million in payments in 2025.

Separately, Mafi and the co-conspirator brokered the sale of 55,000 bomb fuses to the Sudanese Ministry of Defense, according to the court documents.

“In connection with the transaction, Mafi submitted a letter of intent to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ('IRGC') to purchase the bomb fuses for Sudan,” the complaint said.

The Sudanese civil war has created a humanitarian crisis in the North African country, where food supplies are dwindling and millions of people have fled their homes.

If convicted, Mafi faces up to 20 years in federal prison, according to Essayli, who said she is expected to appear Monday in court. The appearance will be a bond hearing and not an arraignment, according to a spokesperson for Essayli’s office.

The Associated Press and City News Service contributed to this story.