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Members of an Italy-based clan of burglars who took more than £1.2 million worth of goods, including from former NUFC forward Isak, have been mandated to return only £1 per person.

Brothers Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo Nikolov, their female sibling Jela Jovanovic and her child Charlie journeyed to the north-east of the UK to raid three houses in spring 2024.

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

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

Particulars of the Burglaries

The court was told the group came by boat in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2024 and employed a RV as their "base of operations", which they parked at Scotch Corner and Durham rest stops while utilizing a separate vehicle to scout out properties and execute burglaries.

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

The following night, the gang entered a house on a private road in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and took luxury bags, valuables and footwear valued at over £100,000.

Following surveillance of the football club's facility for 48 hours, they then acted at the residence of Swedish striker Alexander Isak in Darras Hall on April 4, stealing £10,000 in money, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewellery and the player's £120,000 Audi RS6.

The group, who were portrayed by prosecutors as professional touring burglars, used gloves and masks, turned their phones on silent as they neared their targets and attached a license plate, which had been taken from a auto shop in Chester-le-Street, on to their car with elastic bands.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham on 13 April.

Court Proceedings and Rulings

Valentino Nikolov had pleaded not guilty to the burglary plot but was found guilty by the court, while his three relations had all submitted guilty pleas to the identical accusation.

At the proceeds of crime session, prosecutor Daniel Cordey said each of the burglars had benefited from their crimes to the amount of £1,266,285.93, which was determined by what the affected parties said they had had stolen.

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 authorities, the judge was informed, with two weeks to be served in jail if he failed to pay.

The remaining members had no money or property so were directed to pay a nominal fee of £1 per person, with one week in prison the consequence if the sum was not submitted.

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