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Individuals of an Italy-based family of burglars who took over £1.2m worth of goods, among them from former Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak, have been mandated to return only £1 per person.

Brothers Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo Nikolov, their sister Jela Jovanovic and her son Charlie journeyed to the north-east of the UK to raid multiple homes in spring 2024.

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

At a proceeds of crime proceeding at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela and the brothers Nikolov were ordered to repay £1 each while Charlie must pay over a thousand pounds.

Particulars of the Burglaries

The judge was told the gang came by boat in the United Kingdom on 27 March 2024 and employed a campervan as their "base of operations", which they stationed at Scotch Corner and Durham service service stations while utilizing a separate vehicle to search for targets and execute thefts.

On 31 March they stole more than £1m of goods including high-end fashion, purses, jewelry and a CBE medal from a residence on Clayton Road in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the residents were away.

The next evening, the crew entered a home on a private road in Whitburn, and took designer handbags, jewellery and shoes valued at more than one hundred thousand pounds.

Following surveillance of Newcastle United's facility for two days, they then acted at the home of Swedish striker Mr Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on April 4, stealing ten thousand pounds in money, sixty-eight thousand pounds valued of jewelry and the striker's £120,000 luxury car.

The gang, who were portrayed by prosecutors as experienced itinerant thieves, used hand coverings and face coverings, turned their phones on silent as they neared their targets and strapped a number plate, which had been stolen from a garage in a town, on to their car with rubber straps.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham area on April 13.

Legal Hearings and Sentencing

Valentino Nikolov had pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to burglary but was found guilty by jurors, while his family members had all entered admissions to the same charge.

At the criminal gains session, lawyer the prosecution said every one of the defendants had profited from their offenses to the amount of £1,266,285.93, which was based on what the victims said they had lost.

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

The other three had no assets or assets so were ordered to make a nominal fee 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 property in the coming years, "such as driving around Italy in a sports car or possessing a home", prosecutors could initiate new proceedings to "recover the amount due".