Shamim Mafi, a 44-year-old woman from Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, was arrested Saturday night at Los Angeles International Airport on suspicion of trafficking weapons on behalf of the Iranian government to contacts in Africa, including Sudan. Mafi is an Iranian national who became a lawful permanent resident of the United States in 2016.
First U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli stated that Mafi will face charges for brokering the sale of drones, bombs, bomb fuses, and millions of rounds of ammunition between Iran and the Sudanese Armed Forces. She is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Monday and could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.
The arrest comes as Sudan enters its fourth year of a bloody civil war. The ongoing conflict has created a humanitarian crisis in the North African country, where millions of people have fled their homes and food supplies are dwindling.