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Individuals of an Italian family of thieves who took over £1.2m worth of goods, including from ex- NUFC forward Alexander Isak, have been mandated to pay back only £1 per person.

Brothers Valentino and Giacomo Nikolov, their female sibling Jela Jovanovic and her child Charlie Jovanovic travelled to the northeastern of the UK to burgle three houses in April 2024.

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

At a proceeds of crime proceeding at the court, Jela and the brothers Nikolov were instructed to pay back £1 per person while Charlie Jovanovic must pay over a thousand pounds.

Details of the Break-ins

The court previously heard the gang arrived by boat in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2024 and used a campervan as their "headquarters", which they parked at a service area and Durham service rest stops while utilizing a separate vehicle to search for targets and carry out burglaries.

On 31 March they took over £1m of items such as designer clothing, handbags, jewellery and a CBE medal from a residence on Clayton Road in Jesmond, while the owners were on holiday.

The next evening, the gang entered a house on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, and took designer handbags, jewellery and footwear worth over one hundred thousand pounds.

After scouting out Newcastle United's facility for two days, they then struck at the home of Sweden striker Mr Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on 4 April, taking ten thousand pounds in cash, £68,000 worth of jewellery and the striker's one hundred twenty thousand pound luxury car.

The gang, who were described by prosecutors as experienced touring thieves, used hand coverings and face coverings, switched their mobile devices on silent as they neared their objectives and strapped a number plate, which had been taken from a auto shop in Chester-le-Street, on to their vehicle with elastic bands.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham area on 13 April.

Legal Proceedings and Sentencing

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

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

But Charlie was the only one found to have any money that could be "recovered", namely over a thousand pounds which had previously been confiscated by authorities, the judge was informed, with two weeks to be spent in prison if he failed to pay.

The remaining members had no money or assets so were directed to pay a token amount of £1 per person, with one week in incarceration the consequence if the money was not paid.

The judge Spragg said if they were found with property in the future, "for example operating Italy in a fast car or possessing a property", prosecutors could seek new proceedings to "satisfy the amount outstanding".