A Cairo court has sentenced a well-known Egyptian television presenter and 11 other individuals to death for their involvement in a sprawling narcotics manufacturing and trafficking case, according to official media reports released on Saturday. The presenter, 39-year-old Sarah Khalifa, is widely recognized for her television programme, Mission Impossible, which focused on security and crime-related issues. Beyond her media career, Khalifa is also the owner of a cosmetic surgery clinic and a production company that specializes in organizing parties and events.
According to the state-linked Al-Ahram newspaper, the court issued the death sentences by hanging after finding the defendants guilty of forming an organized criminal gang. The group was specifically accused of procuring materials used in the manufacturing of narcotics with the intent to traffic them, as well as possessing and carrying unlicensed firearms and ammunition. Reports from the state-run Akhbar el-Yom newspaper further detailed that the defendants were charged with manufacturing synthetic drugs by importing the necessary raw materials from abroad.
The judicial verdict was reached following a mandatory legal procedure in Egypt, which required the court to consult the Grand Mufti for his religious opinion before finalizing a capital sentence. During the investigation, authorities reportedly seized more than 750kg of narcotics and raw materials. Officials also discovered two apartments that had been utilized as laboratories for the illicit drug production, alongside the cache of unlicensed firearms and ammunition.
In addition to the capital punishment ruling, the court sentenced Khalifa and the other defendants to five years in prison in connection with a separate case involving the kidnapping and assault of a young man. Egypt currently applies the death penalty for several serious crimes, including premeditated murder, terrorism, certain rape offences, and drug trafficking. According to data provided by the Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms, 541 death sentences were issued within Egypt throughout 2025.
