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Individuals of an Italian clan of burglars who stole more than £1.2m worth of items, among them from ex- NUFC striker Alexander Isak, have been mandated to pay back only £1 per person.

Siblings Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo Nikolov, their sister Jela and her son Charlie journeyed to the northeastern of England to burgle three houses in April 2024.

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

At a criminal assets hearing at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela Jovanovic and the brothers Nikolov were ordered to repay £1 each while Charlie Jovanovic must hand over over a thousand pounds.

Details of the Break-ins

The judge previously heard the group 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 rest stops while using another car to scout out properties and execute burglaries.

On 31 March they stole over £1m of goods including high-end fashion, purses, jewellery and a CBE medal from a house on a street in Jesmond, while the owners were away.

The following night, the crew broke into a home on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and took luxury bags, jewellery and footwear valued at over £100,000.

After scouting out Newcastle United's training ground for two days, they then struck at the home of Swedish striker Mr Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on 4 April, stealing £10,000 in money, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewelry and the striker's £120,000 Audi RS6.

The gang, who were portrayed by prosecutors as professional touring thieves, wore hand coverings and face coverings, turned their mobile devices on silent as they neared their targets and strapped a number plate, which had been taken from a garage in Chester-le-Street, on to their car with rubber straps.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham area on 13 April.

Legal Proceedings and Sentencing

Valentino Nikolov had denied the burglary plot but was found guilty by the court, while his three relations had all submitted admissions to the identical accusation.

At the criminal gains session, prosecutor the prosecution said each of the burglars had profited from their crimes to the amount of £1,266,285.93, which was determined by what the victims said they had had stolen.

But Charlie was the only one deemed to have any funds that could be "recovered", namely over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by authorities, the judge heard, with 14 days to be served in jail if he defaulted.

The remaining members had no assets or property so were ordered to pay a nominal fee of £1 per person, with seven days in incarceration the result if the money was not paid.

Judge Robert Spragg said if they were discovered with property in the coming years, "such as operating in Italy in a sports car or owning a property", prosecutors could seek new proceedings to "recover the sum due".