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Members of an Italian clan of thieves who stole over £1.2 million valued of goods, including from ex- Newcastle United striker Isak, have been mandated to pay back only £1 per person.

Brothers Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo Nikolov, their sister Jela Jovanovic and her son Charlie Jovanovic travelled to the north-east of the UK to burgle three houses in spring 2024.

The group of four were imprisoned for from six and 10 years in 2025.

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

Particulars of the Break-ins

The judge previously heard the gang arrived by ferry in the United Kingdom on 27 March 2024 and used a campervan as their "base of operations", which they parked at Scotch Corner and Durham service rest stops while utilizing a separate vehicle to search for targets and carry out thefts.

On March 31 they stole over £1m of items including high-end fashion, purses, jewelry and a CBE medal from a residence on Clayton Road in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the owners were on holiday.

The following night, the crew entered a house on a private road in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and took luxury bags, jewellery and footwear valued at more than one hundred thousand pounds.

Following surveillance of Newcastle United's facility for two days, they then acted at the residence of Sweden player Alexander Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on 4 April, taking £10,000 in cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds valued of jewelry and the player's £120,000 Audi RS6.

The group, who were described by the prosecution as professional touring thieves, wore hand coverings and face coverings, turned their phones off as they neared their objectives and attached a number plate, which had been taken from a auto shop in Chester-le-Street, on to their car with elastic bands.

They were arrested in the Birmingham on 13 April.

Court Hearings and Sentencing

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

At the proceeds of crime hearing, lawyer Daniel Cordey said every one of the defendants had benefited from their crimes to the amount of over £1.2 million, which was determined by what the victims said they had had stolen.

But Charlie Jovanovic was the sole individual deemed to have any money that could be "recovered", namely over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by police, the court was informed, with 14 days to be served in prison if he defaulted.

The other three had no assets or property so were directed to pay a nominal fee of £1 per person, with one week in prison the consequence 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 sports car or owning a home", the prosecution could seek further action to "satisfy the amount outstanding".