Egyptian television presenter Sarah Khalifa has been sentenced to death by hanging alongside 11 other defendants after a Cairo court found them guilty in a major drug manufacturing and trafficking case.
The 39-year-old media personality, known for hosting the security and crime programme “Mission Impossible”, was convicted as part of a 28-defendant case involving the alleged production and distribution of synthetic narcotics.
According to Egypt’s state-linked Al-Ahram newspaper, the Cairo Criminal Court found Khalifa and the other defendants guilty of forming an organised criminal gang that specialised in procuring materials used to manufacture narcotics, with the intention of trafficking them. The charges also included possessing and carrying unlicensed firearms and ammunition.
The scale of the investigation has drawn widespread attention. Authorities reportedly seized more than 750 kilograms of narcotics and raw materials, while investigators discovered two apartments allegedly being used as laboratories for manufacturing the drugs. Firearms and ammunition were also recovered during the investigation.
Prosecutors alleged that the group operated through a division of responsibilities, with members involved in importing raw materials, manufacturing synthetic drugs and preparing them for distribution. The prosecution reportedly relied on witness statements and digital evidence, including messages, photographs and videos, during the proceedings.
Khalifa has consistently denied involvement in the alleged criminal operation. During the case, she reportedly told investigators that she had never used drugs and maintained that she was innocent. She was arrested in Cairo in April 2025 as the investigation into the alleged network intensified.
The court’s ruling followed consultation with Egypt’s Grand Mufti, whose opinion is required in capital punishment cases. The opinion is advisory, and the defendants retain the right to challenge the verdict through Egypt’s judicial appeal process.
The court also sentenced nine other defendants to life imprisonment and acquitted seven, bringing the total number of defendants in the case to 28. Khalifa and some of the defendants also received a separate prison sentence connected to another case involving the assault and kidnapping of a young man.
The verdict places the television personality at the centre of one of Egypt’s most closely watched recent narcotics cases, although the death sentence is not yet final and remains subject to appeal.
