An Egyptian court has sentenced well-known television presenter Sarah Khalifa and 11 others to death for manufacturing and trafficking narcotics in a major drug case, state-linked media reported on Saturday.
Khalifa, 39, is best known for presenting Mission Impossible, a television programme that focused on security and crime-related issues.
The Cairo court sentenced Khalifa and the other defendants to death by hanging after finding them guilty of forming an organised criminal gang involved in procuring materials used to manufacture narcotics with the intent to traffic them.
They were also convicted of possessing and carrying unlicensed firearms and ammunition, according to the state-linked Al-Ahram newspaper.
The verdict was issued after the court referred the case to Egypt’s Grand Mufti for a religious opinion, a procedure required under Egyptian law in capital cases.
The ruling is subject to appeal.
According to the state-run Akhbar Al-Youm newspaper, the defendants were accused of manufacturing synthetic drugs for trafficking by importing materials used in their production from abroad.
Authorities seized more than 750 kilograms of narcotics and raw materials, and discovered two apartments allegedly being used as laboratories, along with unlicensed firearms and ammunition, Al-Ahram reported.
Khalifa and some of the other defendants were also sentenced to five years in prison in a separate case involving the kidnapping and assault of a young man.
In addition to her television career, Khalifa owns a plastic surgery clinic and a production company that specialises in organising parties and events.
Egypt imposes the death penalty for several offences, including premeditated murder, terrorism, certain rape offences and drug trafficking.
According to the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, Egyptian courts issued 541 death sentences in 2025.
