Nine other defendants received life sentences and seven of the 28 people tried were acquitted at the trial on on Sept. 5, Al Jazeera reported.

Each of those condemned was also fined EGP500,000 (US$9,800) and the seized material ordered confiscated, according to state-owned newspaper Al-Ahram.

Khalifa, 39, hosted "Mission Impossible", a crime and security program on the private channel Al-Mehwar, and ran a cosmetic surgery clinic and an events company. She has more than two million Instagram followers.

Egyptian television presenter Sarah Khalifa. Photo courtesy of her Instagram

Prosecutors accused the group of operating an organized criminal enterprise that brought in raw materials for synthetic drugs from abroad, produced them inside Egypt and distributed the finished product, and of holding unlicensed firearms and ammunition.

Ahram Online reported that members were assigned distinct roles across procurement, manufacturing, storage and distribution, and that the case rested on 20 witness statements together with messages, photographs and video pulled from devices.

Euronews reported that police raided two Cairo apartments being used as laboratories in April 2025 and recovered roughly 200 kg. The seizures passed 750 kg of drugs and production materials over about 40 days as the investigation widened.

Egyptian media initially described the case as one involving synthetic hashish. Forensic evidence presented at trial identified the substances as synthetic cannabinoids, laboratory-made compounds that mimic cannabis but can be far more potent and unpredictable, Euronews reported.

One of them, MDMB-4en-PINACA, has been under international control since 2021 following a World Health Organization recommendation that cited severe adverse effects and deaths.

Prosecutors said Khalifa financed part of the operation, traveled abroad to meet senior figures in the network and served as a link between them and its members inside Egypt, Euronews reported.

Her brother, Mohamed Khalifa, was among those sentenced to death, identified by prosecutors as one of those who manufactured and tested the drugs.

Al-Masry Al-Youm, citing judicial and security sources, reported that the raw materials were purchased from China and smuggled into Egypt concealed inside cosmetics containers and luggage.

Khalifa denied involvement, telling investigators she had never even smoked a cigarette, Al Jazeera reported.

Defense lawyer Mohamed El-Gendy told Euronews the team would appeal and pursue every available legal avenue.

Convicted defendants can seek a retrial before a higher criminal court and then take the case to the Court of Cassation, Egypt's highest criminal court.

Egypt applies the death penalty to premeditated murder, terrorism, some rape offenses and drug trafficking.