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Individuals of an Italian clan of burglars who stole more than £1.2 million worth of goods, including from former NUFC striker Isak, have been ordered to pay back just £1 each.

Siblings Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo Nikolov, their sister Jela 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 proceeding at the court, Jela Jovanovic and the brothers Nikolov were ordered to repay £1 each while Charlie Jovanovic must hand over over a thousand pounds.

Particulars of the Break-ins

The judge was told the group came by boat in the UK on March 27, 2024 and used a campervan as their "base of operations", which they parked at Scotch Corner and Durham service service stations while utilizing a separate vehicle to search for properties and execute thefts.

On 31 March they took over one million pounds of items including high-end fashion, purses, jewelry and a honor from a residence on a street in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the residents were on holiday.

The following night, the gang entered a house on a private road in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and stole luxury bags, valuables and shoes valued at more than £100,000.

After scouting out the football club's training ground for 48 hours, they then acted at the home of Sweden striker Alexander Isak in Darras Hall on 4 April, taking ten thousand pounds in money, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewellery and the striker's £120,000 Audi RS6.

The gang, who were described by prosecutors as experienced touring burglars, used gloves and face coverings, switched their mobile devices on silent as they neared their objectives and strapped a license plate, which had been stolen from a garage in Chester-le-Street, on to their vehicle with rubber straps.

They were arrested in the Birmingham area on 13 April.

Legal Proceedings and Rulings

Valentino Nikolov had denied conspiracy to burglary but was convicted by jurors, while his three relations had all submitted guilty pleas to the same charge.

At the criminal gains session, prosecutor Daniel Cordey said each of the burglars had profited from their offenses to the value of £1,266,285.93, which was determined by what the victims said they had had stolen.

But Charlie Jovanovic was the sole individual found to have any funds that could be "recovered", namely £1,135.50 which had already been seized by police, the court was informed, with 14 days to be spent in prison if he failed to pay.

The remaining members had no assets or assets so were directed to pay a nominal fee of £1 each, with seven days in incarceration the result if the sum was not submitted.

The judge Spragg said if they were discovered with assets in the coming years, "such as driving around Italy in a sports car or possessing a home", the prosecution could seek further action to "recover the sum outstanding".