• A Woodland Hills woman was arrested for trafficking arms to Sudan on behalf of Iran.
• Shamim Mafi, 44, faces charges including brokering the sale of drones and ammunition.
• If convicted, she could face a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Shamim Mafi, a 44-year-old woman from Woodland Hills, California, was arrested at Los Angeles International Airport on allegations of trafficking arms to Sudan. Authorities accuse her of brokering a deal for various weaponry, including “drones, bombs, bomb fuses, and millions of rounds of ammunition” manufactured by Iran, which were allegedly intended for the Sudanese Armed Forces, engaged in a deadly civil conflict, according to latimes and scmp.

Federal prosecutors noted that Mafi, who became a lawful permanent resident of the United States in 2016, was involved in facilitating a significant arms transaction amounting to €60 million ($70 million) for drones destined for Sudan’s defense ministry. Court documents reveal that she allegedly coordinated a Sudanese delegation's travel to Iran and received over €6 million in payments for the drone deal, according to bbc.

The situation in Sudan is dire, with the ongoing war between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces leading to the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, according to the UN. Multiple foreign powers, including Iran, have been accused of providing weapons that exacerbate the conflict, which has caused tens of thousands of deaths and millions displaced since it escalated in 2023, as reported by scmp and bbc.

Mafi's arrest adds to a concerning trend, as she is the third individual from the Iranian-American community in Los Angeles charged with similar offenses recently. If convicted of the current charges, she faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison, according to latimes and scmp.