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Members of an Italian clan of thieves who took over £1.2m valued of goods, among them from ex- Newcastle United forward Alexander Isak, have been mandated to pay back only £1 each.

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

The group of four were jailed for from a decade or less in May 2025.

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

Particulars of the Break-ins

The court previously heard the gang arrived by ferry in the UK on March 27, 2024 and employed a RV as their "headquarters", which they parked at Scotch Corner and Durham service rest stops while utilizing another car to scout out targets and execute burglaries.

On 31 March they took over one million pounds of items including high-end fashion, handbags, jewellery and a honor from a house on a street in Jesmond, while the residents were away.

The following night, the crew entered a house on a private road in Whitburn, and stole designer handbags, jewellery and shoes worth over one hundred thousand pounds.

Following surveillance of Newcastle United's facility for two days, they then acted at the home of Swedish player Alexander Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on April 4, stealing £10,000 in cash, £68,000 valued of jewelry and the player's £120,000 luxury car.

The group, who were described by the prosecution as professional touring thieves, wore gloves and masks, turned their mobile devices on silent as they neared their targets and attached a number plate, which had been taken from a auto shop in Chester-le-Street, on to their vehicle with rubber straps.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham area on 13 April.

Legal Proceedings and Sentencing

Valentino had pleaded not guilty to the burglary plot but was found guilty by the court, while his family members had all entered guilty pleas to the same charge.

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

But Charlie was the only one found to have any funds that could be "recovered", specifically over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by police, the court was informed, with two weeks to be served in prison if he failed to pay.

The other three had no assets or assets so were ordered to pay a nominal fee of £1 each, with one week in incarceration the result if the money was not paid.

The judge Spragg said if they were found with property in the future, "for example driving around Italy in a fast car or possessing a home", prosecutors could seek new proceedings to "satisfy the sum due".