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Members of an Italian clan of thieves who took over £1.2 million valued of items, among them from ex- Newcastle United forward Alexander Isak, have been mandated to pay back only £1 per person.

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

The foursome 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 ordered to repay £1 each while Charlie Jovanovic must pay £1,135.

Particulars of the Burglaries

The court previously heard the group arrived by ferry in the UK on 27 March 2024 and employed a campervan as their "headquarters", which they stationed at a service area and Durham service stations while using a separate vehicle to scout out targets and carry out thefts.

On March 31 they took over one million pounds of items such as designer clothing, purses, jewellery and a honor from a residence on a street in Jesmond, while the owners were on holiday.

The next evening, the gang broke into a home on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and stole luxury bags, jewellery and footwear valued at over one hundred thousand pounds.

After scouting out the football club's training ground for two days, they then acted at the home of Sweden striker Alexander Isak in Darras Hall on April 4, stealing ten thousand pounds in cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewelry and the striker's £120,000 luxury car.

The gang, who were described by the prosecution as professional itinerant burglars, used gloves and masks, switched their phones off as they neared their targets and strapped a license plate, which had been stolen from a auto shop in Chester-le-Street, on to their vehicle with rubber straps.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham area on April 13.

Legal Proceedings and Sentencing

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

At the proceeds of crime session, prosecutor Daniel Cordey said each of the defendants had benefited from their offenses to the value of over £1.2 million, which was based on what the affected parties said they had had stolen.

But Charlie was the sole individual found to have any funds 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 failed to pay.

The other three had no money or assets so were directed to pay a token amount of £1 per person, with one week in prison the result if the money was not submitted.

The judge Robert Spragg said if they were discovered with assets in the coming years, "for example operating Italy in a sports car or possessing a home", prosecutors could initiate further action to "satisfy the sum outstanding".