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Individuals of an Italy-based family of thieves who stole over £1.2m valued of items, including from former NUFC striker Alexander Isak, have been ordered to return only £1 per person.

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

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

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

Particulars of the Burglaries

The judge previously heard the gang arrived by ferry in the United Kingdom on 27 March 2024 and used a RV as their "headquarters", which they stationed at a service area and Durham service rest stops while utilizing another car to search for properties and execute burglaries.

On March 31 they stole over one million pounds of goods including high-end fashion, handbags, jewelry and a CBE medal from a residence on Clayton Road in Jesmond, while the owners were on holiday.

The next evening, the crew broke into a house on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and took designer handbags, valuables and shoes valued at more than £100,000.

After scouting out the football club's facility for 48 hours, they then struck at the residence of Sweden player Mr Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on April 4, taking £10,000 in money, sixty-eight thousand pounds valued of jewellery and the striker's one hundred twenty thousand pound Audi RS6.

The group, who were described by the prosecution as professional touring thieves, wore gloves and masks, switched their mobile devices off as they approached their objectives and attached a license plate, which had been taken from a garage in Chester-le-Street, on to their car with rubber straps.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham on 13 April.

Legal Hearings and Rulings

Valentino Nikolov had denied the burglary plot but was found guilty by jurors, while his three relations had all entered guilty pleas to the identical accusation.

At the proceeds of crime session, lawyer Daniel Cordey said each of the burglars had benefited from their offenses to the amount of over £1.2 million, which was based on what the victims said they had had stolen.

But Charlie Jovanovic was the only one deemed to have any funds that could be "realised", specifically over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by authorities, the court heard, with 14 days to be served in prison if he defaulted.

The remaining members had no money or assets so were directed to make a nominal fee of £1 per person, 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 future, "for example driving around Italy in a sports car or owning a home", prosecutors could seek new proceedings to "satisfy the sum outstanding".