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Members of an Italy-based clan of burglars who took over £1.2m worth of goods, among them from ex- NUFC forward Alexander Isak, have been ordered to return only £1 per person.

Brothers Valentino and Giacomo Nikolov, their female sibling Jela Jovanovic and her child Charlie Jovanovic travelled to the north-east of England to raid multiple homes in April 2024.

The foursome were jailed for between six and 10 years in 2025.

At a proceeds of crime hearing at the court, Jela and the brothers Nikolov were instructed to repay £1 each while Charlie Jovanovic must pay £1,135.

Details of the Break-ins

The judge was told the gang came by boat in the United Kingdom on 27 March 2024 and employed a campervan as their "base of operations", which they stationed at a service area and Durham service service stations while using a separate vehicle to scout out properties and execute thefts.

On March 31 they stole over one million pounds of items such as designer clothing, purses, jewellery and a CBE medal from a house on Clayton Road in Jesmond, while the residents were on holiday.

The next evening, the crew broke into a home on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, and stole luxury bags, jewellery and shoes valued at more than one hundred thousand pounds.

Following surveillance of the football club's facility for 48 hours, they then struck at the residence of Swedish striker Alexander Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on 4 April, stealing £10,000 in cash, £68,000 valued of jewellery and the player's one hundred twenty thousand pound luxury car.

The gang, who were described by the prosecution as professional touring burglars, used gloves and masks, switched their phones on silent as they neared their targets and strapped a license plate, which had been stolen from a auto shop in a town, on to their vehicle with elastic bands.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham area on 13 April.

Court Hearings and Rulings

Valentino Nikolov had denied conspiracy to burglary but was found guilty by jurors, while his family members had all entered admissions to the same charge.

At the criminal gains session, prosecutor the prosecution said each of the burglars had profited from their crimes to the amount of over £1.2 million, which was determined by what the victims said they had lost.

But Charlie Jovanovic was the only one deemed to have any funds that could be "recovered", namely over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by authorities, the judge heard, with two weeks to be served in jail if he failed to pay.

The remaining members had no money or assets so were directed to make a nominal fee of £1 each, with one week in incarceration the result if the money was not paid.

The judge Spragg said if they were discovered with assets in the future, "such as driving around Italy in a sports car or owning a property", prosecutors could initiate new proceedings to "recover the sum outstanding".