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Individuals of an Italian clan of burglars who took over £1.2m worth of goods, including from former NUFC forward Alexander Isak, have been mandated to pay back only £1 each.

Brothers Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo Nikolov, their female sibling Jela Jovanovic and her child Charlie journeyed to the northeastern of England to raid multiple homes in spring 2024.

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

At a proceeds of crime hearing at the court, Jela Jovanovic and the Nikolov brothers were ordered to repay £1 each while Charlie must pay over a thousand pounds.

Particulars of the Break-ins

The court was told the group arrived by ferry in the UK on 27 March 2024 and employed a campervan as their "headquarters", which they parked at a service area and Durham service stations while utilizing another car to scout out targets and carry out burglaries.

On March 31 they took over one million pounds of items such as designer clothing, handbags, jewellery and a honor from a residence on Clayton Road in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the owners were away.

The following night, the crew entered a house on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and stole luxury bags, jewellery and footwear worth more than £100,000.

After scouting out the football club's training ground for 48 hours, they then struck at the residence of Sweden player Alexander Isak in Darras Hall on 4 April, taking £10,000 in cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds valued of jewelry and the striker's £120,000 Audi RS6.

The gang, who were described by prosecutors as professional itinerant burglars, wore hand coverings and masks, turned their phones off as they neared their objectives and strapped a number plate, which had been taken from a auto shop in Chester-le-Street, on to their vehicle with elastic bands.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham on 13 April.

Legal Hearings and Rulings

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

At the proceeds of crime hearing, prosecutor Daniel Cordey said every one of the burglars had benefited from their offenses to the value of £1,266,285.93, which was based on what the victims said they had had stolen.

But Charlie Jovanovic was the only one deemed to have any money that could be "realised", specifically £1,135.50 which had already been seized by police, the court heard, with 14 days to be served in jail if he defaulted.

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

The judge Spragg said if they were discovered with property in the coming years, "such as operating in Italy in a sports car or owning a home", prosecutors could initiate further action to "recover the amount outstanding".