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Members of an Italy-based clan of burglars who stole more than £1.2m valued of items, including from ex- NUFC forward Isak, have been mandated to pay back just £1 per person.

Brothers Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo, their sister Jela and her child Charlie Jovanovic journeyed to the northeastern of the UK to burgle multiple homes in spring 2024.

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

At a criminal assets proceeding at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela and the Nikolov brothers were instructed to pay back £1 per person while Charlie must hand over over a thousand pounds.

Details of the Break-ins

The judge was told the group arrived by ferry in the UK on 27 March 2024 and used a RV as their "base of operations", which they stationed at a service area and Durham service service stations while utilizing a separate vehicle to scout out properties and carry out burglaries.

On 31 March they stole over one million pounds 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 away.

The following night, the gang entered a house on a private road in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and took designer handbags, valuables and footwear worth over £100,000.

After scouting out the football club's facility for two days, they then acted at the residence of Swedish striker Mr Isak in Darras Hall on 4 April, taking £10,000 in cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewelry and the player's one hundred twenty thousand pound luxury car.

The gang, who were described by the prosecution as experienced itinerant thieves, used hand coverings and masks, switched their phones on silent as they neared their objectives and strapped a number plate, which had been taken from a auto shop in a town, on to their vehicle with elastic bands.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham on 13 April.

Legal Proceedings and Sentencing

Valentino had denied the burglary plot but was convicted by jurors, while his family members had all entered guilty pleas to the same charge.

At the criminal gains hearing, lawyer the prosecution said each of the burglars had benefited from their offenses to the amount of £1,266,285.93, which was based on what the affected parties said they had lost.

But Charlie Jovanovic was the only one found to have any money that could be "realised", specifically £1,135.50 which had already been seized by authorities, the court was informed, with 14 days to be spent in jail if he defaulted.

The remaining members had no money or assets so were ordered to pay a token amount of £1 each, with one week in prison the result if the sum was not paid.

The judge Spragg said if they were found with property in the coming years, "such as operating in Italy in a fast car or owning a property", prosecutors could seek further action to "satisfy the sum outstanding".