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Individuals of an Italy-based family of burglars who stole more than £1.2m valued of items, among them from former NUFC forward Alexander Isak, have been ordered to pay back only £1 each.

Siblings Valentino and Giacomo, their sister Jela and her son Charlie journeyed to the north-east of the UK to burgle three houses in spring 2024.

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

At a proceeds of crime hearing at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela Jovanovic and the Nikolov brothers were ordered to pay back £1 each while Charlie must hand over £1,135.

Particulars of the Burglaries

The court was told the group arrived by boat in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2024 and employed a campervan as their "base of operations", which they stationed at a service area and Durham service rest stops while utilizing another car to scout out properties and carry out thefts.

On March 31 they stole more than one million pounds of items such as high-end fashion, handbags, jewellery and a CBE medal from a residence on Clayton Road in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the owners were away.

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

After scouting out the football club's facility for 48 hours, 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 worth of jewellery and the player's one hundred twenty thousand pound luxury car.

The group, who were portrayed by prosecutors as experienced itinerant thieves, used gloves and face coverings, switched their mobile devices off as they approached their targets and strapped a license 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 area on 13 April.

Legal Proceedings and Sentencing

Valentino Nikolov had denied conspiracy to burglary but was found guilty by jurors, while his three relations had all submitted admissions to the same charge.

At the proceeds of crime hearing, lawyer the prosecution said every one of the defendants had benefited from their crimes to the amount of over £1.2 million, which was based on what the affected parties said they had lost.

But Charlie Jovanovic was the only one deemed 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 jail if he failed to pay.

The other three had no assets or assets so were ordered to pay a nominal fee of £1 per person, with one week in prison the consequence if the sum was not submitted.

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