An Egyptian court has sentenced a well-known television presenter and 11 other people to death for manufacturing and trafficking narcotics. The verdict was reported by official media on Saturday.

The presenter, 39-year-old Sarah Khalifa, is best known for her programme “Mission Impossible,” which focused on security and crime issues. She also owns a plastic surgery clinic and a production company that organises parties and events.

A Cairo court found Khalifa and the other defendants guilty of forming an organised criminal group involved in obtaining materials used to make narcotics with the intent to sell them. They were also convicted of possessing unlicensed firearms and ammunition.

The court consulted the Grand Mufti of Egypt, as required by law in capital cases, before delivering the death sentences by hanging. The verdict can still be appealed.

Authorities said more than 750 kilograms of narcotics and raw materials were seized, along with two apartments used as laboratories. Egypt applies the death penalty for serious offences including drug trafficking, and hundreds of such sentences were issued in the country last year.

Photo credit: Punch Newspaper