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Members of an Italian family of thieves who took more than £1.2m worth of goods, among them from former Newcastle United striker Isak, have been ordered to pay back only £1 per person.

Siblings Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo, their sister Jela and her child Charlie Jovanovic journeyed to the northeastern of the UK to burgle three houses in spring 2024.

The group of four 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 instructed to pay back £1 each while Charlie Jovanovic must pay over a thousand pounds.

Particulars of the Break-ins

The court previously heard the group arrived by boat in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2024 and used a RV as their "base of operations", which they parked at Scotch Corner and Durham rest stops while using a separate vehicle to search for targets and execute thefts.

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

The following night, the gang broke into a house on a private road in Whitburn, and took luxury bags, valuables and footwear worth over £100,000.

After scouting out Newcastle United's training ground for 48 hours, they then acted at the residence of Swedish player Alexander Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on 4 April, stealing ten thousand pounds in cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewelry and the striker's £120,000 Audi RS6.

The gang, who were portrayed by prosecutors as experienced touring burglars, used gloves and masks, switched their phones on silent as they approached their objectives and attached a license plate, which had been stolen from a garage in a town, on to their vehicle with rubber straps.

They were arrested in the Birmingham on April 13.

Court Hearings and Rulings

Valentino Nikolov had pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to burglary but was found guilty by the court, while his three relations had all entered guilty pleas to the same charge.

At the proceeds of crime hearing, prosecutor Daniel Cordey said each of the defendants had benefited from their crimes to the amount of over £1.2 million, which was based on what the victims said they had lost.

But Charlie Jovanovic was the sole individual found to have any money that could be "recovered", specifically over a thousand pounds which had previously been confiscated by authorities, the court was informed, with 14 days to be spent in jail if he failed to pay.

The other three had no assets or property so were ordered to pay a nominal fee of £1 each, with one week in prison the consequence if the money was not paid.

Judge Robert Spragg said if they were found with assets in the future, "such as operating in Italy in a sports car or possessing a property", prosecutors could seek further action to "recover the amount due".