A Wimbledon landlord has been found guilty of carrying out a series of Ocean’s-11 style scams at casinos across the UK.

Anthony Lopez of William Road used numerous false identities to enter casinos and cheat on roulette tables.

Lopez, the ringleader of a three-man team, would surreptitiously place a chip on the winning number while two others distracted casino staff.

Police have been unable to calculate how much the criminals made from the scam but believe it was a “substantial amount.” The move known as “top hatting” would pay out at 35/1 when successful.

Detailed instructions on how to carry out the manoeuvre were found by police at the 42-year-olds home alongside a series of false IDs and a stash of crack cocaine.

Casinos across the country had made efforts to ban Lopez and the two other gang members - Danny Ngo from Birmingham and Robert Evans from Manchester - but with little success.

Many of the gang members' false identities were supported by driving licenses and the trio were only stopped as a three-month police operation culminated with the gang being followed into a Stockport Casino.

Lopez was this week found guilty of offences under the Fraud Act, Identity Cards Act, and three counts of possession with intent to supply crack cocaine. He was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court to a total of three and half years of which he is to serve at least half.

Fellow gang member, Evans was sentenced to 48 weeks imprisonment, suspended for two years, and Ngo sentenced to 52 weeks imprisonment.

The Police investigation, codenamed Cobre, began in March 2007 when the Gala Barracuda casino in London made an allegation to police that the trio had been cheating.

Detective Inspector John Anderson from the Met's Clubs and Vice Unit said: "This was an intelligence-led proactive operation aimed at disrupting a highly sophisticated and organised cheat team.

“Working in partnership with the casino industry we have been successful in preventing further substantial losses across the UK within gaming establishments."