Egyptian television presenter Sarah Khalifa and 11 other defendants have been sentenced to death after being convicted of belonging to an organised criminal group involved in manufacturing and trafficking synthetic drugs.
The Cairo Criminal Court found the defendants guilty of importing raw materials used to produce synthetic narcotics, manufacturing the drugs and preparing them for distribution.
Ms Khalifa, 39, is a media personality who is best known for a programme dealing with crime-related issues. She has denied the charges.
The case involved 28 defendants in total. Prosecutors said the group operated through a division of roles, with members responsible for importing raw materials, manufacturing drugs and distributing them.
According to Egypt's state-owned Al Ahram newspaper and state-run Akhbar Al Youm, investigators seized more than 750kg of synthetic narcotics and materials used in their production. The group allegedly used a residential property to store the materials and manufacture the drugs.
The defendants were also convicted of possessing firearms and ammunition without licences, according to the reports.
Prosecutors based their case on statements from 20 witnesses as well as technical and digital evidence, including messages, photographs and videos that they said documented the group's activities.
According to Akhbar Al Youm, Ms Khalifa told the judge during a court appearance last September that she had never seen any drugs until she was photographed with them inside the anti-narcotics authority's offices. She denied any involvement in the alleged criminal activity.
Prosecutors said two defendants remain at large and have been placed on travel bans and watch lists.
Ms Khalifa was arrested in Cairo in April 2025 as part of the investigation.
The death sentences were referred to Egypt's Grand Mufti for an opinion, a procedural requirement in capital cases. The Grand Mufti's opinion is advisory and does not bind the court.
The verdict was formally confirmed on Saturday after the court received the mufti's opinion.
Ms Khalifa and the other defendants sentenced to death have the right to appeal against their sentences to Egypt's Court of Cassation, the country's highest court for criminal cases.
Egypt imposes the death penalty for a range of serious offences, including drug trafficking, although executions are subject to further judicial and legal procedures.
