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Members of an Italy-based family of thieves who stole more than £1.2 million valued of goods, including from former NUFC forward Alexander Isak, have been ordered to pay back only £1 each.

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

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

At a proceeds of crime proceeding at the court, Jela and the brothers Nikolov were instructed to pay back £1 per person while Charlie Jovanovic must pay over a thousand pounds.

Particulars of the Break-ins

The judge previously heard the gang came by ferry in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2024 and used a campervan as their "base of operations", which they stationed at Scotch Corner and Durham service rest stops while utilizing a separate vehicle to search for targets and execute burglaries.

On March 31 they took more than one million pounds of items including designer clothing, handbags, jewellery and a honor from a residence on Clayton Road in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the residents were away.

The following night, the crew entered a home on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and stole luxury bags, jewellery and shoes worth over £100,000.

Following surveillance of the football club's training ground for 48 hours, they then struck at the home of Sweden striker Alexander Isak in Darras Hall on April 4, taking £10,000 in cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewellery and the player's £120,000 Audi RS6.

The gang, who were portrayed by prosecutors as professional touring burglars, wore hand coverings and masks, turned their mobile devices off as they neared their targets and attached a number plate, which had been taken from a garage in a town, on to their vehicle with elastic bands.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham area on April 13.

Court Proceedings and Rulings

Valentino had pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to burglary but was convicted by jurors, while his family members had all submitted admissions to the same charge.

At the criminal gains hearing, lawyer Daniel Cordey said every one of the defendants had benefited from their crimes to the amount of over £1.2 million, which was determined by what the affected parties said they had lost.

But Charlie Jovanovic was the sole individual deemed to have any funds that could be "recovered", specifically over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by police, the judge heard, with 14 days to be served in jail if he defaulted.

The other three had no assets or property so were ordered to make a token amount of £1 per person, with one week in prison the consequence if the money was not paid.

Judge Robert Spragg said if they were discovered with assets in the coming years, "for example operating in Italy in a sports car or owning a home", the prosecution could initiate further action to "recover the amount due".