A jury has found restaurateur Vikas Nath guilty of spiking a woman's drink with gamma-butyrolactone (GBL), a class B drug, at an exclusive Mayfair club with the intent to sexually assault her. The 63-year-old owner of Michelin-starred restaurant Benares was caught on closed-circuit television (CCTV) transferring the liquid into her glass at Annabel's private members' club on January 15, 2024. Alert bar staff intervened before she could drink it.
The jury at Southwark Crown Court delivered guilty verdicts on Friday on two charges: attempting to administer a substance with intent and possession of a class B drug. The court remanded Nath in custody and he faces sentencing on February 16.
Prosecutor Tim Clark KC told the court that staff at Annabel's rooftop garden bar witnessed Nath's "rather strange actions." They watched him put a straw into the woman's drink and use his finger to cover the top to transfer liquid from a small vanilla extract bottle. Staff warned the woman immediately and called police.
Evidence and cover-up attempt
CCTV footage captured the spiking incident. Police later found the bottle containing gamma-butyrolactone (GBL) hidden in a toilet cistern where Nath had tried to dispose of it. Officers also recovered the spiked drink.
Text messages shown to the jury revealed Nath's sexual frustration with the woman. On the day of the incident, he messaged a friend: "I'm at Annabel's. This is probably the last evening with (her). She ain't biting." The friend replied: "Action time I hope."
In earlier messages, Nath had described the woman as "eminently f***able" and told his friend: "I want to get laid, not hold hands." The prosecutor said Nath had grown "impatient with lack of progress" and "wanted to have sex at his house where there was a camera and it could record it."
Defendant's claims rejected
Nath admitted spiking the drink but claimed he only intended to "relax" her, not overpower her for sex. He told the court his actions were "wrong" and said: "I regret it very deeply." He maintained he did not know GBL was illegal and had obtained it to clean car wheel rims.
The prosecution established his clear intent through the text messages and the circumstances. Clark told jurors Nath's purpose was to overpower the woman for sex.
Victim felt betrayed
The woman told the court she felt "betrayed" by Nath. Ironically, she initially defended him when staff warned her about the spiking. "I remember vividly defending Mr Nath, saying 'There is no way he could do that'", she testified.
She recalled sending Nath a message afterward: "I'm sorry, I don't know what's happening. Because I felt it was my fault." She added: "I didn't want him in trouble, I didn't believe it."
In a disturbing twist, Nath had previously warned the woman about drink spiking in a text message after an evening out. When she wrote she would not be drinking that day, he replied: "I think you should drink, but be aware of people around you. My biggest concern last night was someone spiking your drink."
Serious offense with lasting impact
Timothy Greaves from the Crown Prosecution Service said after the verdicts: "Vikas Nath deliberately spiked a woman's drink without her knowledge with the intention of incapacitating her so he could sexually assault her. Thankfully, alert bar staff witnessed what he was doing and were able to warn the victim that her drink had been tampered with before calling the police."
He continued: "Despite his attempts to hide evidence and deny his intentions, we worked closely with the Metropolitan Police to build a strong case to present at trial, resulting in the jury finding him guilty. Spiking is an incredibly serious offence that leaves victims traumatised and fearful. While these offences can often go undetected, the CPS is clear that offenders like Nath will face the full extent of the law so we can deliver the justice victims deserve."
When the jury returned their verdicts, Nath looked to the floor, shook his head, and wiped away tears. He said: "That's bulls***."
Police searches of Nath's Knightsbridge residence uncovered two bottles of GBL and a motion sensor-activated covert camera. He admitted to previously filming sexual encounters at his home without consent.
Note: This article was created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
