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Members of an Italian clan of burglars who stole over £1.2m valued of items, among them from ex- Newcastle United forward Alexander Isak, have been mandated to pay back only £1 per person.

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

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

At a proceeds of crime proceeding at the court, Jela and the Nikolov brothers were instructed to pay back £1 each while Charlie Jovanovic must pay £1,135.

Particulars of the Burglaries

The court was told the gang arrived by ferry in the UK on March 27, 2024 and used a campervan as their "headquarters", which they parked at Scotch Corner and Durham service stations while using a separate vehicle to search for properties and carry out thefts.

On March 31 they stole more than £1m of items such as high-end fashion, purses, jewelry and a honor from a house on Clayton Road in Jesmond, while the owners were on holiday.

The following night, the crew entered a home on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and stole designer handbags, valuables and footwear valued at more than one hundred thousand pounds.

Following surveillance of the football club's facility for 48 hours, they then struck at the residence of Sweden player Mr Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on April 4, stealing ten thousand pounds in money, sixty-eight thousand pounds valued of jewellery and the striker's £120,000 Audi RS6.

The gang, who were portrayed by the prosecution as professional touring thieves, wore gloves and masks, switched their mobile devices on silent as they neared their targets and attached a number plate, which had been stolen from a auto shop in a town, on to their car with rubber straps.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham area on 13 April.

Court Proceedings and Sentencing

Valentino had pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to burglary but was convicted by jurors, while his family members had all submitted guilty pleas to the identical accusation.

At the criminal gains hearing, prosecutor Daniel Cordey said every one of the burglars had benefited from their crimes to the amount of £1,266,285.93, which was based on what the victims said they had lost.

But Charlie Jovanovic was the only one found to have any money that could be "realised", namely over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by police, the judge was informed, with 14 days to be spent in jail if he defaulted.

The remaining members had no assets or assets so were directed to pay a token amount of £1 per person, with seven days in prison the result if the money was not submitted.

Judge Spragg said if they were found with assets in the coming years, "for example operating in Italy in a sports car or owning a home", the prosecution could initiate new proceedings to "satisfy the amount due".