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Individuals of an Italian family of burglars who stole more than £1.2 million valued of items, including from ex- Newcastle United striker Isak, have been ordered to pay back only £1 each.

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

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

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

Particulars of the Burglaries

The judge was told the group came by ferry in the UK on 27 March 2024 and employed a RV as their "headquarters", which they stationed at a service area and Durham service stations while using another car to search for properties and carry out burglaries.

On 31 March they stole over £1m of goods including designer clothing, purses, jewelry and a CBE medal from a house on Clayton Road in Jesmond, while the residents were on holiday.

The following night, the crew broke into a home on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, and took designer handbags, valuables and footwear valued at more than £100,000.

After scouting out the football club's training ground for 48 hours, they then struck at the residence of Swedish player Mr Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on April 4, taking ten thousand pounds in money, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewelry and the striker's one hundred twenty thousand pound Audi RS6.

The gang, who were portrayed by prosecutors as experienced itinerant burglars, used hand coverings and face coverings, turned their mobile devices off as they approached their targets and strapped a license plate, which had been stolen from a auto shop in Chester-le-Street, on to their car with rubber straps.

They were arrested in the Birmingham area on April 13.

Legal Hearings and Rulings

Valentino had pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to burglary but was convicted by jurors, while his three relations had all entered admissions to the identical accusation.

At the proceeds of crime hearing, prosecutor Daniel Cordey said every one of the defendants had benefited from their offenses to the amount of over £1.2 million, which was based on what the victims said they had lost.

But Charlie Jovanovic was the sole individual deemed to have any funds that could be "recovered", specifically £1,135.50 which had already been seized by police, the judge heard, with two weeks to be served in jail if he failed to pay.

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

Judge Spragg said if they were discovered with assets in the future, "for example driving around in Italy in a fast car or owning a home", prosecutors could initiate new proceedings to "satisfy the amount due".