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Individuals of an Italian family of burglars who stole more than £1.2 million valued of items, among them from former NUFC striker Isak, have been ordered to pay back just £1 each.

Brothers Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo Nikolov, their female sibling Jela and her son Charlie Jovanovic travelled to the north-east of England to raid three houses in April 2024.

The group of four were imprisoned for from a decade or less in May 2025.

At a proceeds of crime proceeding at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela and the brothers Nikolov were instructed to repay £1 each while Charlie must hand over over a thousand pounds.

Details of the Break-ins

The judge was told the gang arrived by boat in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2024 and used a RV as their "base of operations", which they stationed at Scotch Corner and Durham service service stations while utilizing a separate vehicle to search for targets and execute burglaries.

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

The following night, the gang broke into a home on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, and took luxury bags, valuables and footwear worth more than one hundred thousand pounds.

Following surveillance of the football club's facility for two days, they then struck at the home of Sweden player Mr Isak in Darras Hall on April 4, stealing £10,000 in money, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewellery and the striker's £120,000 Audi RS6.

The gang, who were described by the prosecution as experienced touring thieves, wore gloves and face coverings, switched their phones on silent as they neared their objectives and attached a number plate, which had been taken from a garage in Chester-le-Street, on to their car with elastic bands.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham area on 13 April.

Legal Proceedings and Rulings

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

At the proceeds of crime session, prosecutor Daniel Cordey said every one of the burglars had profited from their offenses to the amount of £1,266,285.93, 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 "recovered", namely £1,135.50 which had previously been confiscated by authorities, the court was informed, with 14 days to be spent in jail if he defaulted.

The remaining members had no money or property so were directed to make a token amount of £1 per person, with seven days in incarceration the result if the sum was not submitted.

The judge Spragg said if they were discovered with property in the coming years, "such as driving around in Italy in a fast car or owning a property", prosecutors could seek new proceedings to "satisfy the amount outstanding".