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Members of an Italy-based family of thieves who stole more than £1.2m valued of goods, among them from ex- Newcastle United forward Alexander Isak, have been ordered to pay back only £1 per person.

Brothers Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo Nikolov, their sister Jela and her son Charlie Jovanovic journeyed to the north-east of the UK to raid multiple homes in spring 2024.

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

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

Details of the Burglaries

The judge was told the group arrived by boat in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2024 and used a RV as their "headquarters", which they stationed at a service area and Durham service service stations while using a separate vehicle to scout out properties and execute burglaries.

On 31 March they stole more than £1m of goods such as designer clothing, handbags, jewellery and a CBE medal from a residence on Clayton Road in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the residents were on holiday.

The following night, the gang entered a house on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, and took designer handbags, valuables and footwear worth over one hundred thousand pounds.

After scouting out Newcastle United's training ground for two days, they then struck at the home of Sweden player Mr Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on 4 April, taking ten thousand pounds in money, £68,000 valued of jewellery and the player's £120,000 luxury car.

The group, who were described by prosecutors as professional touring thieves, used gloves and masks, turned their mobile devices off as they neared their targets and strapped a number plate, which had been taken from a auto shop in a town, on to their vehicle with rubber straps.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham area on April 13.

Legal Proceedings and Sentencing

Valentino had denied the burglary plot but was convicted by the court, while his three relations had all entered guilty pleas to the identical accusation.

At the criminal gains hearing, prosecutor Daniel Cordey said each of the defendants had profited from their offenses to the amount of £1,266,285.93, which was determined by what the affected parties said they had had stolen.

But Charlie was the sole individual deemed to have any money that could be "recovered", namely over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by police, the court was informed, with 14 days to be spent in prison if he defaulted.

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

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