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Members of an Italian family of burglars who took over £1.2 million worth of goods, including from former Newcastle United forward Alexander Isak, have been mandated to return just £1 per person.

Siblings Valentino and Giacomo Nikolov, their sister Jela and her child Charlie Jovanovic journeyed to the north-east of the UK to burgle multiple homes in April 2024.

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

At a criminal assets hearing at the court, Jela and the Nikolov brothers were instructed to pay back £1 each while Charlie must pay over a thousand pounds.

Details of the Break-ins

The judge was told the group arrived by boat in the UK on March 27, 2024 and employed a RV as their "base of operations", which they stationed at a service area and Durham service stations while using a separate vehicle to search for targets and execute burglaries.

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

The following night, the crew entered a house on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, and stole luxury bags, jewellery and footwear worth over one hundred thousand pounds.

Following surveillance of the football club'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 cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewellery and the striker's one hundred twenty thousand pound luxury car.

The group, who were portrayed by prosecutors as professional touring thieves, wore gloves and face coverings, switched their mobile devices on silent as they neared their objectives and attached a license plate, which had been taken from a garage in a town, on to their car with rubber straps.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham on 13 April.

Court Proceedings and Sentencing

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

At the criminal gains session, lawyer the prosecution said each of the defendants had benefited from their crimes to the value of over £1.2 million, which was determined by what the affected parties said they had had stolen.

But Charlie was the only one found to have any funds that could be "recovered", namely £1,135.50 which had previously been confiscated by authorities, the judge heard, with 14 days to be served in prison if he defaulted.

The other three had no money or assets so were directed to pay a nominal fee of £1 per person, with seven days in incarceration the consequence if the money was not submitted.

The judge Robert Spragg said if they were discovered with assets in the future, "such as operating in Italy in a fast car or possessing a home", prosecutors could seek further action to "satisfy the amount due".