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Members of an Italian family of thieves who stole over £1.2 million worth of items, among them from ex- NUFC striker Isak, have been ordered to return just £1 per person.

Siblings Valentino and Giacomo, their sister Jela and her son Charlie Jovanovic travelled to the north-east of the UK to burgle multiple homes in spring 2024.

The group of four were jailed for from a decade or less in 2025.

At a criminal assets hearing at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela and the brothers Nikolov were ordered to repay £1 per person while Charlie must hand over £1,135.

Details of the Burglaries

The judge was told the group arrived by boat in the UK on March 27, 2024 and used a RV as their "base of operations", which they parked at a service area and Durham service rest stops while utilizing a separate vehicle to scout out properties and execute thefts.

On March 31 they took more than one million pounds of goods such as high-end fashion, purses, jewellery and a honor from a house on Clayton Road in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the residents were away.

The following night, the gang entered a house on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and stole designer handbags, jewellery and shoes valued at more than one hundred thousand pounds.

After scouting out the football club's training ground for 48 hours, they then acted at the residence of Swedish striker Alexander Isak in Darras Hall on April 4, stealing £10,000 in money, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewellery and the player's £120,000 luxury car.

The group, who were portrayed by prosecutors as experienced touring thieves, wore gloves and face coverings, switched their phones off as they approached their targets and attached a license plate, which had been stolen from a garage in Chester-le-Street, on to their vehicle with rubber straps.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham area on April 13.

Legal Hearings and Rulings

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

At the proceeds of crime session, lawyer Daniel Cordey said each of the burglars had benefited from their crimes to the value of over £1.2 million, which was determined by what the victims said they had lost.

But Charlie was the sole individual deemed to have any funds that could be "recovered", specifically over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by authorities, the judge heard, with two weeks to be served in jail if he defaulted.

The remaining members had no money or property so were directed to pay a nominal fee of £1 per person, with one week in prison the result if the sum was not submitted.

The judge Robert Spragg said if they were found with assets in the coming years, "such as operating Italy in a fast car or owning a property", the prosecution could seek new proceedings to "satisfy the amount outstanding".