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Members of an Italian family of thieves who took over £1.2m valued of goods, among them from ex- NUFC forward Alexander Isak, have been ordered to pay back only £1 per person.

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

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

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

Particulars of the Break-ins

The court was told the group arrived by ferry in the UK on 27 March 2024 and used a campervan as their "base of operations", which they stationed at Scotch Corner and Durham rest stops while utilizing a separate vehicle to scout out properties and carry out thefts.

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

The following night, the crew entered a home on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, and stole designer handbags, jewellery and shoes worth over £100,000.

After scouting out the football club's training ground for two days, they then acted at the residence of Swedish striker Alexander Isak in Darras Hall on 4 April, stealing £10,000 in cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds valued of jewellery and the striker's one hundred twenty thousand pound luxury car.

The group, who were described by the prosecution as professional touring thieves, used gloves and masks, turned their phones off as they neared their targets and attached a number plate, which had been taken from a auto shop in a town, on to their vehicle with elastic bands.

They were arrested in the Birmingham area on 13 April.

Court Proceedings and Rulings

Valentino Nikolov had denied conspiracy to burglary but was convicted by jurors, while his family members had all entered admissions to the same charge.

At the proceeds of crime session, lawyer Daniel Cordey said every one of the burglars had profited from their offenses to the amount of £1,266,285.93, which was determined by what the affected parties said they had lost.

But Charlie was the only one deemed to have any money that could be "realised", specifically over a thousand pounds which had previously been confiscated by police, the judge was informed, with 14 days to be spent in prison if he defaulted.

The other three had no assets or property so were ordered to make a nominal fee of £1 each, with one week in prison the result if the sum was not submitted.

Judge Robert Spragg said if they were discovered with property in the future, "such as operating in Italy in a sports car or owning a home", the prosecution could seek new proceedings to "recover the amount due".