A 44-year-old Los Angeles woman was arrested Saturday night at Los Angeles International Airport on suspicion of brokering the sale of drones, bombs, bomb fuses and ammunition between Iran and the Sudanese Armed Forces, federal prosecutors said Sunday. Shamim Mafi, an Iranian national who became a lawful permanent resident in 2016, was taken into custody as Sudan enters its fourth year of civil war. According to a criminal complaint, Mafi operated a company in Oman through which she allegedly trafficked the weapons with an unnamed co-conspirator.
The arrest reflects the global reach of the Sudanese conflict, which has created a humanitarian crisis and drawn weapons suppliers from multiple continents. International arms flows are sustaining the war as Sudan’s humanitarian catastrophe deepens.
Federal prosecutors said Mafi brokered the sale of “drones, bombs, bomb fuses, and millions of rounds of ammunition” between Iran and the Sudanese Armed Forces, according to U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli, who announced the arrest on social media Sunday.
The Alleged Trafficking Network
A criminal complaint dated March 12 alleges that Mafi, along with an unnamed co-conspirator, operated a company called Atlas International Business in Oman through which the weapons and ammunition were trafficked. The company received over $7 million in payments during 2025, according to court documents.
The pair allegedly brokered the sale of 55,000 bomb fuses to the Sudanese Ministry of Defense. In connection with that transaction, Mafi submitted a letter of intent to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to purchase the bomb fuses for Sudan, the complaint stated.
Mafi became a lawful permanent resident of the United States in 2016. As of Sunday, her attorney status remained unclear, and contact information for her could not be located.
Mafi is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Monday. If convicted on the charges, she faces up to 20 years in prison.
A War Drawing International Arms Suppliers
Sudan’s civil war, now in its fourth year, has created one of the world’s most severe humanitarian emergencies. Millions of people have fled the country as food supplies dwindle and the conflict continues without resolution.