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Members of an Italian family of thieves who took more than £1.2 million worth of goods, among them from former Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak, have been mandated to return only £1 per person.

Siblings Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo Nikolov, their female sibling Jela and her child Charlie travelled to the northeastern of England to burgle three houses in spring 2024.

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

At a criminal assets hearing at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela Jovanovic and the brothers Nikolov were instructed to pay back £1 per person while Charlie Jovanovic must hand over over a thousand pounds.

Details of the Burglaries

The judge previously heard the gang came by ferry in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2024 and used a campervan as their "base of operations", which they stationed at Scotch Corner and Durham rest stops while utilizing another car to search for targets and execute burglaries.

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

The following night, the crew broke into a house on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, and stole designer handbags, valuables and shoes worth more than £100,000.

After scouting out Newcastle United's training ground for 48 hours, they then acted at the residence of Sweden striker Mr Isak in Darras Hall on April 4, stealing £10,000 in money, £68,000 worth of jewellery and the striker's £120,000 luxury car.

The group, who were portrayed by the prosecution as professional itinerant thieves, wore gloves and face coverings, turned their phones on silent as they approached their objectives and attached a number plate, which had been taken from a garage in a town, on to their vehicle with rubber straps.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham area on April 13.

Legal Hearings and Sentencing

Valentino had denied the burglary plot but was found guilty by the court, while his family members had all entered guilty pleas to the same charge.

At the criminal gains hearing, prosecutor the prosecution said each of the burglars had profited from their offenses to the value of over £1.2 million, which was based on what the victims said they had had stolen.

But Charlie was the sole individual found to have any funds that could be "realised", namely £1,135.50 which had already been seized by authorities, the court heard, with two weeks to be spent in prison if he failed to pay.

The other three had no money or property so were ordered to make a token amount of £1 each, with seven days in incarceration the result if the sum was not paid.

The judge Robert Spragg said if they were found with assets in the future, "such as driving around Italy in a sports car or possessing a home", the prosecution could initiate further action to "satisfy the sum outstanding".