Web Desk: An Egyptian criminal court has sentenced television presenter Sarah Khalifa and 11 other defendants to death after finding them guilty in a major drug trafficking case involving hundreds of kilograms of narcotics, state-linked media reported Saturday.
The Cairo Criminal Court convicted the defendants of participating in an organised criminal network that prosecutors said obtained raw materials for the production of synthetic drugs with the intention of trafficking them.
The court also handed nine defendants life sentences and acquitted seven others. The case involved 28 defendants and more than 750 kilograms of narcotics, according to Egyptian media reports.
Prosecutors said the group obtained materials from overseas and transported them to Egypt, where members allegedly used residential properties to store the supplies and manufacture synthetic drugs.
Authorities said the defendants divided responsibilities within the alleged network, with different members handling procurement, production and distribution.
Investigators also reported finding unlicensed firearms and ammunition during the operation.
Khalifa, 39, denied involvement in the alleged criminal activity and maintained her innocence throughout the investigation.
According to Egyptian media, she told investigators that she had never smoked a cigarette and rejected allegations that she had any connection to drug trafficking.
Khalifa became known to Egyptian audiences as the presenter of “Mission Impossible,” a security and crime programme broadcast by the private Al-Mehwar television channel.
Beyond television, she operated businesses including a cosmetic surgery clinic and an event-planning company. She also maintained a large social media following, with more than 2 million followers on Instagram, according to reports.
During Saturday’s court hearing, media reports said Khalifa became emotional and appealed to the judge for mercy. She said her parents had raised her properly and rejected the suggestion that she needed money from drugs.
Khalifa was arrested in April 2025 as authorities investigated the alleged drug network.
The court issued the death sentences after consulting Egypt’s Grand Mufti, whose opinion is required in capital cases but is not legally binding on the court.
The defendants can challenge the verdict before Egypt’s Court of Cassation. Under recent judicial changes, defendants have two stages through which they can seek to overturn or review convictions, beginning with a request for a retrial before an appeals court.
Egypt retains the death penalty for several serious offenses, including drug trafficking, terrorism and premeditated murder.
In a separate case heard Saturday, the same court sentenced Khalifa to three years in prison for assaulting and recording her driver.
The separate conviction adds to the legal troubles facing the presenter as she challenges the much more serious capital conviction in the drug case.
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