Federal authorities have arrested an Iranian national at Los Angeles International Airport on Saturday night for allegedly facilitating an arms deal for the Iranian regime.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli announced in a post on X that “Shamim Mafi, 44, of Woodland Hills, was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport for trafficking arms on behalf of the government of Iran.”
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… pic.twitter.com/l39Gf1WVed
— F.A. United States Attorney Bill Essayli (@USAttyEssayli) April 19, 2026
Mafi is an Iranian national who became a lawful permanent resident in 2016. Federal agents arrested Mafi as she prepared to board a flight to Turkey.
Prosecutors allege that Mafi and an unnamed co-conspirator operated an Oman-based company called Atlas International Business, LLC to sell Iranian weapons to Sudan’s military. She allegedly brokered a contract worth over $70.6 million for the sale of Iranian-made Mohajer-6 armed drones to Sudan’s Ministry of Defense.
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Iranian Arms trafficking dealer just arrested in L.A. California during a major conflict with Iran.
— Star S.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (@DominguezH31015) April 20, 2026
On April 18 2026, federal authorities arrested Shamim Mafi, a 44-year-old Iranian-born woman living in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles.
She’s charged with brokering illegal arms… pic.twitter.com/L9qpwBpIQ1
Prosecutors further allege that she brokered the sale of 55,000 bomb fuses, AK-47 machine guns and other weapons to Sudan’s government. “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 criminal complaint explains.
Investigators say the company received over $7 million in payments in 2025 and that the defendant routed the payments through Turkey and the United Arab Emirates to avoid U.S. sanctions.
Mafi was born in Iran, but later relocated to Istanbul before moving to the United States.
Behind One Face, Many Clever Faces Can Also Be Hidden!
— pk_osho (@pawanbaba30) April 20, 2026
Shamim Mafi’s story reads like a thriller — a glamorous Iranian-American woman living the good life in Los Angeles, suddenly arrested for allegedly running a secret arms network for Iran.
Shamim Mafi, 44, is an Iranian… pic.twitter.com/O4zHu1FSam
The Iranian regime has cultivated covert networks in the U.S. for years. These individuals use commercial activity to carry out intelligence operations. Mafi allegedly maintained contact with an officer from Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security and worked with individuals tied to the IRGC.
Records obtained through search warrant show about 62 contacts between Mafi and Iranian officials between December 2022 and June 2025. During interviews with U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers and the FBI, she admitted to communicating with an officer with Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security.
If convicted, Mafi could face up to 20 years in prison.
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