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Individuals of an Italian clan of thieves who took more than £1.2m worth of items, including from ex- Newcastle United forward Alexander Isak, have been mandated to return just £1 each.

Brothers Valentino and Giacomo Nikolov, their female sibling Jela Jovanovic and her child Charlie travelled to the northeastern of England to raid three houses in spring 2024.

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

At a proceeds of crime hearing at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela and the brothers Nikolov were ordered to repay £1 per person while Charlie must pay £1,135.

Particulars of the Burglaries

The court was told the gang arrived by boat in the United Kingdom on 27 March 2024 and used a campervan as their "headquarters", which they stationed at a service area and Durham rest stops while using a separate vehicle to scout out targets and carry out burglaries.

On March 31 they stole more than one million pounds of goods such as designer clothing, purses, jewellery and a CBE medal from a house on a street in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the owners were on holiday.

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

Following surveillance of the football club's training ground for 48 hours, they then acted at the home of Swedish player Mr Isak in Darras Hall on April 4, taking ten thousand pounds in money, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewellery and the striker's £120,000 Audi RS6.

The group, who were described by prosecutors as professional itinerant thieves, used gloves and masks, turned their mobile devices off as they approached their targets and strapped a license plate, which had been stolen from a garage in a town, on to their vehicle with elastic bands.

They were arrested in the Birmingham area on 13 April.

Legal Proceedings and Rulings

Valentino Nikolov had pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to burglary but was found guilty by the court, while his family members had all entered guilty pleas to the identical accusation.

At the proceeds of crime session, lawyer the prosecution said each of the defendants had profited from their offenses to the amount of £1,266,285.93, which was based on what the victims said they had lost.

But Charlie Jovanovic was the only one found to have any funds that could be "recovered", specifically over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by police, 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 pay a token amount of £1 each, with one week in incarceration the consequence if the money was not paid.

The judge Spragg said if they were found with property in the coming years, "for example operating in Italy in a sports car or possessing a property", the prosecution could initiate further action to "satisfy the sum outstanding".