She has accumulated more than 2.5 million followers on Instagram and previously worked as a television presenter on several Egyptian channels. Egyptian outlet Masrawy has reported that Khalifa once hosted a crime-related program called “Mission Impossible.”
Away from television, she was also involved in the beauty business and operated a clinic.
But prosecutors painted a dramatically different picture of Khalifa and the other defendants during the criminal proceedings.
Authorities alleged that the group participated in a highly organized operation designed to obtain ingredients used in the production of synthetic drugs, manufacture the narcotics and then move the finished product through a distribution network.
Investigators said the alleged operation was not a loosely connected collection of individuals.
Instead, prosecutors claimed participants were given defined responsibilities within the organization.
Some allegedly obtained or imported the necessary raw materials. Others were accused of participating in manufacturing, storage or distribution.
Authorities also alleged that a residential property had been turned into a location for storing drug-making materials and producing synthetic narcotics.
The sheer amount of material seized during the investigation underscored the scale of the prosecution.
Authorities reportedly recovered more than 750 kilograms of synthetic narcotics and associated raw materials.
That works out to approximately 1,653 pounds.
The investigation had been underway for more than a year by the time Saturday’s sentences were announced.
Khalifa was arrested in Cairo in April 2025 as authorities pursued the alleged drug network.
She eventually became one of 28 defendants prosecuted in the case.
The punishments handed down by the court varied dramatically.
Twelve defendants, including Khalifa, received death sentences. Nine others were given life imprisonment.
Seven defendants were acquitted.
The narcotics allegations were not the only charges at issue.
The court also convicted defendants on charges involving the possession of firearms and ammunition without the required licenses.
Prosecutors assembled an extensive body of evidence as they sought convictions.
According to reports about the proceedings, the prosecution relied on testimony from 20 witnesses along with technical and digital evidence collected during the investigation.
Messages, photographs and video recordings were introduced as evidence that authorities said helped establish the existence and activities of the alleged criminal organization.
Financial consequences accompanied the criminal proceedings as well.
Prosecutors placed assets and bank accounts belonging to defendants under precautionary measures while individuals already in custody were ordered to remain detained.
Egypt’s capital punishment procedures also required another step before the court could formally impose the death sentences.
The case was referred to Egypt’s Grand Mufti for an opinion.
That referral is part of the country’s legal process in death penalty cases. The Grand Mufti’s position is advisory, meaning the court is not legally required to follow the recommendation when reaching its final decision.
Despite the severity of Saturday’s ruling, Khalifa’s legal battle is not necessarily finished.
The death sentence is not yet final.
Khalifa and the other defendants who were convicted retain the right to challenge the judgments before Egypt’s Court of Cassation, the nation’s highest court for criminal matters.
That means the appeals process could determine whether the extraordinary sentences ultimately stand.
For Khalifa, the case represents a spectacular reversal of fortune.
She went from appearing before television audiences and amassing millions of followers online to sitting at the center of one of Egypt’s most dramatic recent narcotics prosecutions.
Her celebrity also ensures that the case will attract attention far beyond an ordinary criminal proceeding.
What began with Khalifa’s arrest in Cairo in April 2025 has now resulted in a death sentence, nine life sentences and allegations surrounding more than 1,600 pounds of narcotics and drug-making materials.
But the final chapter has not yet been written.
With an appeal still available before the Court of Cassation, Khalifa’s fate will now move into the next stage of Egypt’s criminal justice system.
