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Members of an Italian family of thieves who took more than £1.2m worth of items, including from former NUFC striker Alexander Isak, have been mandated to return just £1 each.

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

The foursome were imprisoned for from six and 10 years in May 2025.

At a proceeds of crime hearing at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela Jovanovic and the Nikolov brothers were instructed to repay £1 per person while Charlie Jovanovic must pay over a thousand pounds.

Details of the Break-ins

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

On March 31 they took more than £1m of goods such as high-end fashion, purses, jewellery and a honor from a house on a street in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the residents were on holiday.

The following night, the gang broke into a home on a private road in Whitburn, and stole designer handbags, valuables and shoes valued at more than one hundred thousand pounds.

After scouting out Newcastle United's training ground for two days, they then acted at the residence of Swedish player Mr Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on April 4, taking £10,000 in money, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewelry and the striker's one hundred twenty thousand pound Audi RS6.

The gang, who were described by prosecutors as experienced touring burglars, wore hand coverings and masks, switched their mobile devices off as they neared their targets and attached 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 on 13 April.

Legal Hearings and Rulings

Valentino Nikolov had denied conspiracy to burglary but was found guilty by the court, while his family members had all submitted guilty pleas to the identical accusation.

At the proceeds of crime session, lawyer Daniel Cordey said every one of the defendants had profited from their offenses to the value of £1,266,285.93, which was determined by what the affected parties said they had lost.

But Charlie Jovanovic was the sole individual found to have any funds that could be "realised", specifically £1,135.50 which had previously been confiscated by authorities, the judge heard, with two weeks to be served in jail if he failed to pay.

The other three had no money or property so were ordered to pay a token amount of £1 per person, with one week in incarceration the result if the money was not paid.

The judge Robert Spragg said if they were discovered with property in the coming years, "for example driving around Italy in a fast car or owning a home", the prosecution could initiate further action to "satisfy the sum due".