The prosecution’s closing arguments before the Cairo Criminal Court, held in the Fifth Settlement, unveiled the pivotal role played by the fourth defendant, Sarah Khalifa, within a criminal organization specializing in the importation and manufacturing of narcotics, which included 27 other defendants.
The prosecution stated in its address that Sarah represented a vital link between the organization’s members inside and outside the country.
She maintained secret relationships with the third defendant—previously sentenced to life imprisonment—while publicly appearing as a media personality dominating screens and commanding attention as a presenter who sought integration into artistic and media circles.
The prosecution representative added that the defendant “worked to build a wide network of relationships and contacts within the artistic and media community, exploiting the luster of fame to provide a cover for her real activity, granting her a shield that allowed her movements to pass unnoticed.”
The prosecution explained that Sarah did not limit herself to media work but presented herself as a businesswomanowning commercial companies that were used—according to the investigations—as a financial front to fund the manufacturing of narcotics, through transferring special monetary amounts that served the criminal scheme.
The prosecution revealed that one of her owned companies, a “production” company, operated abroad under the guise of organizing parties, while another operated inside the country in the field of service provision. “Between this and that, the wicked deals were struck,” in the words of the prosecution representative.
The scheme—according to the address—involved Sarah paying the cost of the raw materials used in drug manufacturing to the first and second defendants residing abroad, who were responsible for importing and smuggling the chemical substances into the country through illicit means.
The prosecution affirmed that the fourth defendant played a “fundamental role” in securing financing and facilitating communication among the network’s elements, considering that her actions “exceeded the limits of concealment and amounted to full participation in the establishment and management of the organization.”
The case originated from information received by the Anti-Narcotics Sector regarding suspicious activity linked to Sarah Khalifa, which led to the raid of two residential apartments in Cairo, one of which belonged to her, being used as secret laboratories for manufacturing the “Powder” drug (synthetic cannabis). Large quantities of narcotics and raw materials weighing about 750 kilograms were seized, in addition to sums of money.
According to investigations, Sarah Khalifa took a pivotal role in funding operations, traveling abroad to coordinate the import of raw materials from China in collaboration with fugitive defendants, in addition to managing the manufacturing and testing operations before distribution.
