Egyptian television presenter Sarah Khalifa has been sentenced to death by hanging, along with 11 other defendants in a major drugs case, according to reports.

Khalifa, 39, was among 12 defendants given the death penalty by a Cairo court on Saturday. Nine others were sentenced to life imprisonment and seven were acquitted, according to Egypt’s state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper.

She is best known for hosting Mission Impossible, a television programme focused on crime and security. She also owns a cosmetic surgery clinic and a production company that organises parties and events, according to AFP.

Prosecutors said the group had formed an organised criminal gang that imported materials from abroad for the manufacture of synthetic drugs, with different members allegedly responsible for importing raw materials, manufacturing the narcotics, and distributing them.

Investigators seized more than 750kg of narcotics and materials used to manufacture them, Al-Ahram reported. They also found two apartments that were allegedly being used as drug laboratories, as well as unlicensed firearms and ammunition.

Khalifa has denied the allegations against her.

During a court appearance last September, Khalifa told the judge she had never seen drugs until she was photographed with them inside the anti-narcotics authority’s offices, according to the state-run Akhbar Al-Youm newspaper.

The prosecution’s case was based on statements from 20 witnesses as well as technical and digital evidence, including messages, photographs and videos that prosecutors said documented the group’s activities, according to an Al-Ahram report.

Khalifa was arrested in Cairo in April 2025 in connection with the investigation, and an arrest warrant was issued later the same year.

The death sentences were referred to Egypt’s Grand Mufti before the final judgment.

This is required under Egyptian law in capital cases, although the Mufti’s opinion is advisory and does not bind the court.

Khalifa and the other defendants sentenced to death can appeal to Egypt’s Court of Cassation, the country’s highest court for criminal cases.

The court also sentenced Khalifa and others to five years in prison in a separate case involving the kidnapping and assault of a young man, according to AFP.

Egypt retains the death penalty for offences including premeditated murder, terrorism, some rape offences, and drug trafficking. The Egyptian Commission for Rights and Freedoms recorded 541 death sentences in the country in 2025.