RESTAURATEUR CAUGHT RED-HANDED SPIKING WOMAN'S DRINK AT ANNABEL'S
A Knightsbridge restaurateur, Vikas Nath, 63, admits to spiking a woman's drink with gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) at Annabel's, an exclusive private members' club in Mayfair.The court heard that Nath used a straw to put GBL into the woman's spicy margarita while sitting in the rooftop garden bar.
Staff noticed his suspicious actions, including him dipping a straw into a small vanilla extract bottle and then transferring liquid into the woman's drink.
Nath threw the bottle into a toilet cistern when police were approaching.
CCTV footage captured the incident, and officers found traces of GBL in the bottle recovered from the toilet.
Nath claimed he only spiked the drink to help her relax and stated he did not realize GBL was an illegal substance.
He also admitted to having used the drug in the past to covertly record sexual activity.
In police interviews, Nath stated he suffered a mental health breakdown at the time, blaming it on a divorce.
The crime happened on January 15, 2024, and Nath was charged with attempting to administer a substance with intent and possession of a Class B drug.
The trial is ongoing.