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Individuals of an Italian family of burglars who stole more than £1.2 million worth of goods, among them from ex- NUFC striker Alexander Isak, have been mandated to pay back only £1 per person.

Brothers Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo, their female sibling Jela Jovanovic and her son Charlie travelled to the northeastern of the UK to burgle multiple homes in spring 2024.

The group of four were jailed for from six and 10 years in 2025.

At a criminal assets hearing at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela Jovanovic and the Nikolov brothers were instructed to pay back £1 per person while Charlie must pay over a thousand pounds.

Particulars of the Burglaries

The court previously heard the gang arrived by ferry in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2024 and used a RV as their "base of operations", which they stationed at Scotch Corner and Durham rest stops while utilizing a separate vehicle to scout out properties and execute burglaries.

On March 31 they took more than one million pounds of items such as designer clothing, handbags, jewellery and a CBE medal from a house on a street in Jesmond, while the owners were on holiday.

The next evening, the crew broke into a house on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, and stole luxury bags, jewellery and footwear valued at more than one hundred thousand pounds.

After scouting out the football club's facility for 48 hours, they then acted at the home of Swedish striker Mr Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on 4 April, stealing £10,000 in cash, £68,000 worth of jewellery and the player's £120,000 luxury car.

The gang, who were portrayed by the prosecution as professional itinerant burglars, used hand coverings and face coverings, turned their mobile devices on silent as they neared their objectives and attached a license plate, which had been stolen from a auto shop in Chester-le-Street, on to their car with elastic bands.

They were arrested in the Birmingham on 13 April.

Court Hearings and Sentencing

Valentino Nikolov had denied the burglary plot but was convicted by the court, while his family members had all submitted guilty pleas to the identical accusation.

At the proceeds of crime hearing, prosecutor Daniel Cordey said every one of the burglars had benefited from their offenses to the value of over £1.2 million, which was determined by what the victims said they had lost.

But Charlie Jovanovic was the only one deemed to have any money that could be "recovered", specifically £1,135.50 which had already been seized by police, the court was informed, with 14 days to be served in jail if he defaulted.

The other three had no money or assets so were directed to make a token amount of £1 each, with seven days in incarceration the result if the money was not paid.

The judge Spragg said if they were discovered with assets in the future, "for example operating in Italy in a fast car or owning a home", the prosecution could initiate new proceedings to "satisfy the amount due".