An Egyptian court has sentenced popular television presenter Sarah Khalifa to death by hanging after finding her guilty of leading a criminal gang involved in manufacturing and trafficking synthetic drugs.

The 39-year-old presenter and 11 other defendants were handed the death penalty by the Cairo Criminal Court following a high-profile trial, CNN reported.

Nine other defendants were sentenced to life imprisonment, while seven were acquitted.

According to state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper, the gang imported raw materials from abroad to manufacture synthetic narcotics for sale.

Authorities seized more than 750kg of drugs and drug-production materials during raids. Police also discovered two apartments allegedly being used as drug laboratories and confiscated unlicensed firearms and ammunition.

Khalifa was well known in Egypt for hosting the television programme Mission Impossible, which focused on crime and security issues.

She also owns a cosmetic surgery clinic and a production company that organises parties and events.

Her arrest shocked fans who knew her as a media personality covering crime and security matters.

Throughout the trial, Khalifa denied the charges.

In unverified footage circulating on social media, she is heard saying: “I have never smoked a cigarette in my life, I swear to Almighty God, with the strongest oath, that I have been wronged.”

A separate report by BBC confirmed that the court consulted Egypt’s Grand Mufti before issuing the death sentences, as required under Egyptian law in capital punishment cases.

In a separate case, Khalifa and other defendants were sentenced to five years in prison over the abduction and assault of a young man.

Prosecutors had charged 28 people in total with forming an organised criminal group and possessing illegal weapons.

The case attracted widespread attention across Egypt and the Arab world, partly because of Khalifa’s profile as a television presenter who had built her career covering crime stories.

Prosecutors built their case on testimony from 20 witnesses, as well as conversations, photographs and video footage.

Egypt issued 492 death sentences in 2025, one of the highest recorded figures in the world, according to Amnesty International. The country carried out 23 executions during the same year