A Los Angeles businesswoman has been arrested for trafficking arms on behalf of the Iranian government, officials announced.
Shamim Mafi, 44, was taken into custody at LAX on Saturday night, according to the office of the US Attorney for the Central District of California.
Mafi is an Iranian national who became a lawful permanent resident of the U.S. in 2016.
She has been charged with brokering the sale of drones, bombs, bomb fuses and millions of rounds of ammunition manufactured by Iran and sold to Sudan, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California, Bill Essayli, said.
Mafi is accused of using and Oman-registered company, Atlas International Business, to make the weapons sales as recently as 2025, according to court records.
Among the sales was a contract for more than $70 million for Iranian-made Mohajer-6 armed drones from Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics, the New York Post reported.
The drones, along with 55,000 bomb fuses, were transferred in deals with the Sudanese Ministry of Defense, which is in the midst of a civil war.
The Woodland Hills resident is expected to appear in court on Monday afternoon.
If convicted, she faces a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.
Photos from her social media show Mafi all glammed up and showing off her Mercedes Benz convertable.