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Members of an Italian family of burglars who took over £1.2 million worth of items, among them from former NUFC forward Isak, have been ordered to pay back just £1 each.

Brothers Valentino and Giacomo, their sister Jela and her child Charlie Jovanovic journeyed to the northeastern of England to raid three houses in April 2024.

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

At a criminal assets proceeding at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela and the brothers Nikolov were ordered to repay £1 per person while Charlie must pay £1,135.

Particulars of the Burglaries

The court was told the gang came by ferry in the United Kingdom on 27 March 2024 and employed a RV as their "headquarters", which they parked at a service area and Durham service service stations while using a separate vehicle to search for properties and carry out thefts.

On 31 March they took more than one million pounds of items such as designer clothing, handbags, jewelry 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 gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and stole designer handbags, valuables and shoes valued at more than one hundred thousand pounds.

Following surveillance of Newcastle United's facility for two days, they then acted at the residence of Swedish player Alexander Isak in Darras Hall on 4 April, taking ten thousand pounds in cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewelry and the player's one hundred twenty thousand pound Audi RS6.

The group, who were described by prosecutors as experienced touring burglars, used gloves and face coverings, switched their phones off as they approached their targets and attached 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 13 April.

Court Proceedings and Rulings

Valentino Nikolov had denied conspiracy to burglary but was found guilty by jurors, while his family members had all entered guilty pleas to the identical accusation.

At the proceeds of crime session, lawyer the prosecution said every one of the defendants had benefited from their offenses to the amount of over £1.2 million, which was determined by what the affected parties said they had lost.

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

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

The judge Robert Spragg said if they were found with property in the coming years, "such as operating Italy in a fast car or owning a property", prosecutors could seek further action to "recover the amount due".