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Individuals of an Italian family of burglars who stole more than £1.2 million worth of goods, among them from ex- NUFC striker Alexander Isak, have been mandated to pay back only £1 per person.

Siblings Valentino and Giacomo, their sister Jela Jovanovic and her child Charlie journeyed to the northeastern of England to raid three houses in April 2024.

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

At a criminal assets hearing at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela Jovanovic and the Nikolov brothers were instructed to repay £1 per person while Charlie must hand over £1,135.

Particulars of the Burglaries

The court was told the gang came by boat in the UK on 27 March 2024 and used a campervan as their "headquarters", which they parked at Scotch Corner and Durham service rest stops while utilizing a separate vehicle to scout out properties and carry out burglaries.

On March 31 they took over one million pounds of items including high-end fashion, purses, jewellery and a honor from a house on Clayton Road in Jesmond, while the residents were away.

The following night, the crew broke into a house on a private road in Whitburn, and took designer handbags, jewellery and footwear worth more than one hundred thousand pounds.

After scouting out the football club's facility for two days, they then acted at the home of Swedish player Alexander Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on April 4, taking £10,000 in money, sixty-eight thousand pounds valued of jewelry and the striker's one hundred twenty thousand pound luxury car.

The gang, who were described by prosecutors as professional itinerant thieves, used hand coverings and masks, switched their mobile devices on silent as they neared their targets and strapped a number plate, which had been taken from a garage in Chester-le-Street, on to their vehicle with rubber straps.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham on April 13.

Legal Proceedings and Rulings

Valentino Nikolov had pleaded not guilty to the burglary plot but was found guilty by the court, while his family members had all submitted admissions to the same charge.

At the proceeds of crime hearing, lawyer the prosecution said each of the burglars had profited from their crimes to the amount of £1,266,285.93, which was determined by what the affected parties said they had lost.

But Charlie was the only one deemed to have any money that could be "realised", specifically over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by police, the judge was informed, with 14 days to be served in jail if he failed to pay.

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

The judge Robert Spragg said if they were discovered with assets in the coming years, "such as driving around Italy in a fast car or possessing a property", prosecutors could seek new proceedings to "satisfy the sum due".