Alexander Isak Robbers Instructed to Repay Only £1 Each from £1.2m Thefts

Individuals of an Italy-based clan of burglars who took more than £1.2m worth of items, among them from ex- NUFC striker Alexander Isak, have been mandated to return only £1 each.

Siblings Valentino and Giacomo Nikolov, their female sibling Jela and her son Charlie journeyed to the northeastern of England to burgle multiple homes in April 2024.

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

At a criminal assets proceeding at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela Jovanovic and the brothers Nikolov were ordered to repay £1 each while Charlie Jovanovic must hand over £1,135.

Particulars of the Break-ins

The court was told the group came by boat in the UK on 27 March 2024 and used a campervan as their "base of operations", which they stationed at Scotch Corner and Durham service service stations while using another car to search for targets and carry out burglaries.

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

The next evening, the crew broke into a house on a private road in Whitburn, and took designer handbags, jewellery and shoes worth more than one hundred thousand pounds.

After scouting out the football club's facility for 48 hours, they then acted at the home of Sweden striker Alexander Isak in Darras Hall on April 4, stealing ten thousand pounds in cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds valued of jewelry and the striker's one hundred twenty thousand pound luxury car.

The gang, who were described by prosecutors as professional touring burglars, used gloves and masks, turned their mobile devices on silent as they approached their objectives and attached a license plate, which had been taken from a auto shop in a town, on to their car with elastic bands.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham area on 13 April.

Legal Proceedings and Rulings

Valentino had pleaded not guilty to the burglary plot but was convicted by jurors, while his family members had all entered guilty pleas to the identical accusation.

At the criminal gains hearing, lawyer the prosecution said each of the defendants had profited from their crimes to the value of £1,266,285.93, which was based on what the affected parties said they had had stolen.

But Charlie Jovanovic was the sole individual found to have any funds that could be "recovered", namely over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by police, the court heard, with 14 days to be spent in prison if he defaulted.

The remaining members had no assets or property so were directed to make a nominal fee of £1 per person, with seven days in incarceration the consequence if the money was not submitted.

Judge Robert Spragg said if they were discovered with assets in the future, "for example driving around Italy in a fast car or possessing a property", prosecutors could seek new proceedings to "satisfy the sum outstanding".