Wine lover robbed while collecting Lafite bought on net

A man was beaten up and robbed of more than US$40,000 last week after going to collect bottles of Château Lafite he had agreed to buy on a classified ads website.

Quy Duc Nguyen had travelled from his home in Rosemead, California to Queens in New York to pick up the wine.

Three weeks ago Nguyen answered an advert on Craigslist.com and bought an allocation of Château Lafite at US$2,000 (£1,228) a bottle from a seller known simply as "Bart".

According to the New York Post, Nguyen told police the transaction had been completed without any problems.

However, last week the seller got back in touch with Nguyen and offered him a better vintage of Château Lafite at US$3,200 (£1,965) a bottle.

Nguyen made a deal for 12 bottles and agreed to meet "Bart" at a location in New York to collect the wine.

When he arrived at the apartment on 60th Street in the Maspeth district of Queens he was knocked out, tied up and robbed of US$40,100 (£25,000).

“I saw the victim come out, his head bleeding. He had no shoes or socks on,” said a resident who saw Nguyen stagger from the apartment after the attack.

Lucy Shaw, 16.05.2011