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Individuals of an Italy-based clan of burglars who stole over £1.2m valued of items, among them from ex- Newcastle United striker Isak, have been ordered to return only £1 each.

Siblings Valentino and Giacomo Nikolov, their female sibling Jela Jovanovic and her child Charlie journeyed to the north-east of the UK to burgle multiple homes in April 2024.

The group of four were jailed for between six and 10 years in May 2025.

At a criminal assets proceeding at the court, Jela Jovanovic and the Nikolov brothers were instructed to pay back £1 per person while Charlie must pay £1,135.

Particulars of the Burglaries

The judge was told the group arrived by ferry in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2024 and employed a campervan as their "headquarters", which they stationed at a service area and Durham service stations while utilizing a separate vehicle to search for targets and execute thefts.

On March 31 they stole more than one million pounds of items including high-end fashion, purses, jewelry and a CBE medal from a house on a street in Jesmond, while the residents were away.

The next evening, the gang broke into a home on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, and took luxury bags, valuables and shoes valued at more than £100,000.

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 4 April, stealing ten thousand pounds in money, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewelry and the striker's £120,000 luxury car.

The gang, who were described by prosecutors as professional itinerant burglars, wore gloves and face coverings, turned their phones on silent as they neared their targets and strapped a license plate, which had been stolen from a auto shop in a town, on to their vehicle with rubber straps.

They were arrested in the Birmingham area on April 13.

Legal Proceedings and Sentencing

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

At the proceeds of crime hearing, lawyer Daniel Cordey said each of the defendants had benefited 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 found to have any money that could be "realised", specifically over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by authorities, the judge heard, with two weeks to be spent in jail if he defaulted.

The other three had no assets or property so were directed to make a nominal fee of £1 each, with one week in prison the result if the money was not submitted.

The judge Robert Spragg said if they were found with assets in the coming years, "such as driving around Italy in a sports car or owning a property", the prosecution could initiate new proceedings to "recover the amount outstanding".