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Members of an Italy-based clan of burglars who took more than £1.2m valued of goods, among them from ex- Newcastle United forward Alexander Isak, have been mandated to pay back only £1 each.

Brothers Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo, their sister Jela Jovanovic and her son Charlie Jovanovic journeyed to the northeastern of the UK to burgle multiple homes in April 2024.

The foursome were jailed for between six and 10 years in 2025.

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

Particulars of the Burglaries

The court previously heard the gang arrived by ferry in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2024 and used a RV as their "headquarters", which they parked at a service area and Durham rest stops while utilizing a separate vehicle to search for targets and carry out burglaries.

On 31 March they took more than one million pounds of items including high-end fashion, purses, jewellery and a CBE medal from a residence on Clayton Road in Jesmond, while the residents were on holiday.

The following night, the crew broke into a house on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and stole designer handbags, jewellery and shoes valued at over one hundred thousand pounds.

Following surveillance of Newcastle United's facility for two days, they then struck at the residence of Swedish player Alexander Isak in Darras Hall on April 4, taking ten thousand pounds in money, £68,000 valued of jewellery and the player's one hundred twenty thousand pound Audi RS6.

The gang, who were portrayed by prosecutors as professional itinerant burglars, wore hand coverings and face coverings, turned their phones off as they neared their targets and attached a license 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 Hearings and Sentencing

Valentino Nikolov had pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to burglary but was found guilty by the court, while his three relations had all entered guilty pleas to the identical accusation.

At the proceeds of crime session, lawyer Daniel Cordey said every one of the defendants had profited from their offenses to the amount of over £1.2 million, which was based on what the affected parties said they had had stolen.

But Charlie Jovanovic was the only one deemed to have any money that could be "recovered", namely £1,135.50 which had already been seized by police, the court heard, with two weeks to be spent in jail if he failed to pay.

The other three had no money or assets so were ordered to pay a token amount of £1 each, with one week in incarceration the consequence if the sum was not paid.

The judge Spragg said if they were found with property in the future, "for example driving around in Italy in a fast car or owning a property", the prosecution could seek further action to "recover the amount outstanding".