Federal authorities on Sunday arrested Shamim Mafi, a 44-year-old Iranian national and lawful permanent resident of the United States at Los Angeles International Airport while attempting to board a flight to Istanbul, Turkey. The arrest occurred as part of an investigation into alleged arms brokering activities conducted on behalf of the government of Iran.
According to a 68-page criminal complaint filed by federal prosecutors, Mafi is charged with brokering the sale of drones, bombs, bomb fuses, and millions of rounds of ammunition manufactured by Iran and sold to Sudan. She is also accused of conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
The complaint states that Mafi did not obtain the required U.S. licenses for these transactions, which involved items subject to U.S. sanctions. If convicted, she faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
Prosecutors further detailed specific alleged transactions, including a contract valued at more than $70.6 million for the sale of Iranian-made Mohajer-6 armed drones to Sudan’s Ministry of Defense. Mafi is also alleged to have facilitated the sale of 55,000 bomb fuses to the Sudanese military, along with multiple ammunition deals, including one for 10 million rounds of AK-47 ammunition and a proposed contract for 240 million rounds.
Payments for the transactions were reportedly routed through Turkey and the United Arab Emirates using an Oman-registered company, Atlas International Business LLC, in an effort to evade U.S. sanctions restrictions.
BREAKING: Iranian national Shamim Mafi arrested at Los Angeles International Airport for allegedly trafficking guns on behalf of the Iranian government.
She faces up to 20 years in prison.
Mafi was born in Iran and became a lawful United States resident in 2016 under Obama. pic.twitter.com/URQmhnxjJW
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) April 19, 2026
Court documents indicate that Mafi maintained contacts with Iranian government entities. Records obtained through a search warrant show approximately 62 bidirectional contacts between Mafi and a phone number associated with an officer of Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security between December 2022 and June 2025.
During interviews with U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers and the FBI, Mafi acknowledged communicating with the officer and stated that she was “more useful to them [i.e., MOIS] in Iran than in the United States.” The complaint also alleges that Mafi executed the scheme from multiple locations, including within the Central District of California, as well as in Iran, Turkey, Oman, and other countries.
“Last night, Shamim Mafi, 44, of Woodland Hills, was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport for trafficking arms on behalf of the government of Iran. She is charged with a violation of 50 U.S.C. § 1705 for brokering the sale of drones, bombs, bomb fuses, and millions of rounds of ammunition manufactured by Iran and sold to Sudan,” Bill Essayli, U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, announced in a statement.
“If convicted, she faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison. Mafi is an Iranian national who became a lawful permanent resident of the United States in 2016. She is expected to make her initial appearance on Monday afternoon in U.S. District Court in downtown L.A. She is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court.”
