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Members of an Italy-based family of burglars who stole over £1.2 million worth of items, including from former NUFC striker Isak, have been mandated to return just £1 per person.

Brothers Valentino and Giacomo Nikolov, their female sibling Jela Jovanovic and her son Charlie Jovanovic journeyed to the northeastern of the UK to raid three houses in April 2024.

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

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

Details of the Burglaries

The court previously heard the gang arrived by ferry in the United Kingdom on 27 March 2024 and used a RV as their "base of operations", which they stationed at a service area and Durham service stations while utilizing another car to search for targets and execute burglaries.

On 31 March they stole more than £1m of items such as designer clothing, handbags, jewellery and a CBE medal from a house on Clayton Road in Jesmond, while the owners were away.

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

Following surveillance of the football club's facility for 48 hours, they then acted at the home of Swedish striker Mr Isak in Darras Hall on April 4, stealing ten thousand pounds in cash, £68,000 worth of jewelry and the striker's one hundred twenty thousand pound luxury car.

The group, who were described by the prosecution as professional itinerant thieves, wore hand coverings and masks, turned their mobile devices off as they neared their objectives and attached a number plate, which had been taken from a garage in a town, on to their car with elastic bands.

They were arrested in the Birmingham on 13 April.

Court Hearings and Rulings

Valentino had pleaded not guilty to the burglary plot but was found guilty by jurors, while his family members had all submitted admissions to the identical accusation.

At the criminal gains session, lawyer Daniel Cordey said each of the burglars had profited from their offenses to the amount of over £1.2 million, which was determined by what the victims said they had had stolen.

But Charlie Jovanovic was the only one found to have any money that could be "realised", specifically over a thousand pounds which had previously been confiscated by police, the court heard, with 14 days to be spent in prison if he failed to pay.

The remaining members had no assets or assets so were ordered to make a nominal fee of £1 per person, with seven days in incarceration the result if the money was not submitted.

Judge Spragg said if they were found with assets in the coming years, "such as operating Italy in a sports car or possessing a property", the prosecution could seek new proceedings to "satisfy the sum due".