LA Woman Arrested for Aiding Iran in Arms Sales to Sudanese Armed Forces
TL/DR –
Shamim Mafi, a 44-year-old woman from Woodland Hills, was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on suspicion of aiding Iran in funnelling weapons to its proxies in Africa. Mafi is believed to have brokered the sale of drones, bombs, bomb fuses, and ammunition between Iran and the Sudanese Armed Forces, amassing millions of rounds. This action is seen as a contribution to one of the world’s deadliest conflicts, with the Sudanese civil war having already claimed over 100,000 lives and displaced millions since 2023.
Los Angeles Woman Arrested on Suspicion of Illicit Arms Brokerage
A Woodland Hills woman, identified as Shamim Mafi, was detained at Los Angeles International Airport over the weekend on suspicion of abetting Iran in supplying arms towards conflicts in Africa. Mafi, 44, reportedly brokered the sale of drones, bombs, bomb fuses, and ammunition between Iran and the Sudanese Armed Forces as stated in a criminal complaint filed shortly before her arrest.
The Sudanese military is involved in a civil war that’s resulted in over 100,000 deaths and countless displacements since 2023. Mafi is the third person from the Iranian diaspora in Angeles to be arrested by federal authorities in recent weeks.
Moving from Iran to Istanbul in 2013, Mafi later resettled in Los Angeles and began working for Iran’s Ministry of Intelligence and Security. Federal authorities allege that she used an Omani shell company to move money and weapons between Iran and its affiliates.
Further details suggest that in 2024, a Sudanese weapons broker contracted Mafi for a shipment of Qods Mohajer-6 drones, the same model Iran has supplied Russia in its Ukraine war. Part of the weapons shipment reportedly arrived in Sudan from China.
The criminal complaint highlighted that Mafi and her Sudanese contacts often tried to conceal money transactions to evade US sanctions. A section of the money was delivered in crates of $100 bills, while other transactions were made through Middle Eastern hawalas, or informal money-exchange systems, and banks in Dubai.
Court documents name Mafi’s shell company as the exporter of the drones with the Sudanese Ministry of Defense named as the buyer. Social media posts reveal Mafi to be posing with guns and military hardware, interspersed with shots of her enjoying a luxurious lifestyle.
Mafi is due to appear in federal court this Monday, and a conviction could result in a 20-year prison sentence.
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