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Members of an Italy-based family of burglars who took over £1.2 million worth of items, including from ex- Newcastle United forward Alexander Isak, have been mandated to return just £1 each.

Siblings Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo, their sister Jela Jovanovic and her child Charlie travelled to the north-east of England to burgle multiple homes in spring 2024.

The foursome were imprisoned for from a decade or less in May 2025.

At a criminal assets hearing at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela and the brothers Nikolov were ordered to repay £1 each while Charlie Jovanovic must hand over over a thousand pounds.

Particulars of the Burglaries

The judge was told the gang came by boat in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2024 and employed a campervan as their "base of operations", which they stationed at Scotch Corner and Durham service stations while utilizing a separate vehicle to scout out targets and execute burglaries.

On March 31 they stole more than £1m of goods such as high-end fashion, purses, jewelry and a honor from a house on Clayton Road in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the owners were away.

The next evening, the gang entered a home on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and stole designer handbags, jewellery and shoes valued at over £100,000.

After scouting out the football club's training ground for 48 hours, they then struck at the home of Sweden player Alexander Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on 4 April, taking £10,000 in cash, £68,000 worth of jewelry and the player's one hundred twenty thousand pound Audi RS6.

The group, who were described by prosecutors as professional touring burglars, wore gloves and face coverings, switched their phones on silent as they approached their objectives and attached a license plate, which had been taken from a garage in a town, on to their vehicle with elastic bands.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham area on April 13.

Court Proceedings and Rulings

Valentino had denied the burglary plot but was convicted by the court, while his family members had all entered admissions to the identical accusation.

At the proceeds of crime session, lawyer Daniel Cordey said every one of the defendants had benefited from their offenses to the value of £1,266,285.93, which was determined by what the victims said they had lost.

But Charlie was the sole individual deemed to have any money that could be "recovered", specifically £1,135.50 which had previously been confiscated by police, the court heard, with 14 days to be spent in jail if he defaulted.

The other three had no money or property so were ordered to pay a nominal fee of £1 per person, with one week in prison the consequence if the money was not paid.

The judge Robert Spragg said if they were discovered with property in the future, "such as driving around in Italy in a sports car or possessing a property", the prosecution could initiate further action to "satisfy the amount due".