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Members of an Italian family of thieves who stole over £1.2m valued of items, including from ex- Newcastle United striker Isak, have been ordered to return just £1 each.

Siblings Valentino and Giacomo Nikolov, their female sibling Jela Jovanovic and her child Charlie Jovanovic journeyed to the northeastern of England to burgle three houses in April 2024.

The foursome were jailed for between a decade or less in May 2025.

At a criminal assets hearing at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela and the Nikolov brothers were ordered to pay back £1 each while Charlie Jovanovic must hand over £1,135.

Details of the Burglaries

The court was told the group came by ferry in the UK on 27 March 2024 and employed a RV as their "headquarters", which they parked at a service area and Durham service stations while using another car to scout out targets and carry out burglaries.

On March 31 they took more than £1m of items including high-end fashion, handbags, jewelry and a CBE medal from a house on a street in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the owners were on holiday.

The next evening, the gang entered a home on a private road in Whitburn, and stole luxury bags, valuables and shoes valued at over one hundred thousand pounds.

Following surveillance of the football club's facility for two days, they then acted at the home of Sweden striker Alexander Isak in Darras Hall on 4 April, stealing £10,000 in cash, £68,000 valued of jewellery and the player's £120,000 luxury car.

The gang, who were described by prosecutors as professional itinerant burglars, used hand coverings and face coverings, switched their mobile devices on silent as they approached their targets and attached a license plate, which had been stolen from a garage in Chester-le-Street, on to their vehicle with rubber straps.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham area on 13 April.

Legal Hearings and Sentencing

Valentino Nikolov had pleaded not guilty to the burglary plot but was convicted by jurors, while his three relations had all entered admissions to the same charge.

At the criminal gains hearing, lawyer the prosecution said every one of the burglars had benefited from their offenses to the amount of over £1.2 million, which was based on what the victims said they had had stolen.

But Charlie was the sole individual found to have any funds that could be "realised", specifically £1,135.50 which had previously been confiscated by police, the court heard, with 14 days to be spent in prison if he defaulted.

The remaining members had no assets or property so were ordered to make a token amount of £1 each, with seven days in incarceration the consequence if the sum was not submitted.

Judge Spragg said if they were discovered with assets in the future, "for example driving around Italy in a sports car or possessing a home", prosecutors could seek further action to "recover the sum outstanding".