Egyptian TV presenter Sarah Khalifa is one of 12 defendants sentenced to death over illegal drug manufacturing and trafficking crimes.
The 39-year-old is best known for her show Mission Impossible, which explores crime and security issues.
She also owns an events company and a cosmetic surgery clinic, plus she has 2.5million Instagram followers.
As per the Al-Ahram newspaper, a Cairo court sentenced Khalifa and 11 others to execution by hanging, although this can still be appealed.
They are charged with ‘forming an organised criminal gang specialising in procuring materials used in manufacturing narcotics, with the intent to traffic them, and possessing and carrying unlicensed firearms and ammunition’.
The defendants have been charged with importing materials from abroad to ‘manufacture synthetic drugs’, according to the state-run Akhbar el-Yom newspaper.
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Police are believed to have seized more than 750kg of narcotics and raw materials, plus equipment, after finding two apartments were being used as labs. They also discovered unlicensed guns and ammunition.
Khalifa specifically was accused of supplying funds for the operation and travelling abroad to meet two of the gang leaders.
The scheme is said to have involved a detailed network, with members recruited at different stages. Some were responsible for obtaining materials while others handled assembly and distribution.
Egyptian media have described the matter as a ‘major drugs case’, which also saw nine defendants sentenced to life in jail and seven others acquitted. There were 28 defendants in total.
As well as the drug offences, Khalifa has been separately charged with the abduction and assault of a young man. She and others were handed a five-year prison term.
Under Egyptian law, capital punishment is a legal penalty, and it is applied to more than 100 offences, such as terrorism-related crimes, military offences, premeditated and aggravated murder, and large-scale drug trafficking.
In capital cases, Egyptian law requires the Grand Mufti of Egypt to be consulted for a non-binding religious opinion, after which a verdict is delivered.
Figures state that, in 2025, Egypt handed down 492 death sentences, marking a 35% increase from 365 in 2024. Human rights monitors documented at least 23 executions last year.
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