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Individuals of an Italian clan of burglars who stole over £1.2m worth of goods, among them from ex- Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak, have been ordered to pay back just £1 per person.

Siblings Valentino and Giacomo Nikolov, their female sibling Jela Jovanovic and her son Charlie Jovanovic travelled to the north-east of the UK to raid multiple homes in April 2024.

The foursome were jailed for from a decade or less in May 2025.

At a criminal assets hearing at the court, Jela Jovanovic and the brothers Nikolov were ordered to pay back £1 per person while Charlie Jovanovic must hand over £1,135.

Details of the Break-ins

The judge previously heard the group arrived by boat in the UK on March 27, 2024 and employed a campervan as their "headquarters", which they stationed at a service area and Durham service service stations while using a separate vehicle to search for targets and carry out burglaries.

On 31 March they stole more than £1m of items such as high-end fashion, handbags, jewellery and a CBE medal from a house on Clayton Road in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the owners were on holiday.

The next evening, the gang broke into a house on a private road in Whitburn, and took designer handbags, jewellery and shoes valued at over one hundred thousand pounds.

Following surveillance of Newcastle United's training ground for two days, they then acted at the residence of Sweden player Alexander Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on 4 April, stealing £10,000 in cash, £68,000 valued of jewelry and the striker's £120,000 Audi RS6.

The group, who were described by prosecutors as professional itinerant burglars, used hand coverings and face coverings, switched their phones off as they approached their targets and attached a number plate, which had been taken from a auto shop in Chester-le-Street, on to their car with rubber straps.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham area on 13 April.

Legal Proceedings and Rulings

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

At the criminal gains session, lawyer the prosecution said every one of the defendants had profited from their crimes to the value of over £1.2 million, which was based on what the victims said they had had stolen.

But Charlie Jovanovic was the sole individual deemed to have any funds that could be "realised", namely over a thousand pounds which had previously been confiscated by police, the court was informed, with two weeks to be served in prison if he defaulted.

The other three had no money or property so were directed to pay a nominal fee of £1 per person, with one week in incarceration the consequence if the money was not paid.

Judge Spragg said if they were found with assets in the coming years, "for example operating in Italy in a sports car or owning a property", prosecutors could initiate new proceedings to "satisfy the sum due".