TV presenter among 12 sentenced to death by hanging for smuggling drugs with intention to sell

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The state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper reports that the dozen were part of a drug smuggling gang that used imported ingredients to make drugs for sale.

The group was also said to have illegal firearms and munitions.

Khalifa, 39, denied the charges and is set to appeal the death sentence after she was found guilty last month.

Her TV show, Mission Impossible, dealt with crime issues.

Nine other defendants have been sentenced to life imprisonment, while seven were acquitted.

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The confirmation of the verdict comes after the court obtained a religious opinion from Egypt's grand mufti - a legal requirement for capital punishment in the nation.

More than 750kg of drugs or the materials to make them were seized by police when they raided a property.

Twenty witnesses gave statements to the prosecutors, al-Ahram said, in addition to electronic evidence that included conversations and video clips seen by the court.

The state-run Akhbar al-Yom newspaper says that during a hearing, Khalifa said she had never seen any drugs until she was photographed with them inside the anti-narcotics authority offices.