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Individuals of an Italian clan of thieves who stole over £1.2m valued of items, among them from former Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak, have been ordered to return just £1 per person.

Siblings Valentino and Giacomo, their female sibling Jela Jovanovic and her child Charlie journeyed to the north-east of England to burgle multiple homes in April 2024.

The group of four were imprisoned for from a decade or less in 2025.

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

Details of the Burglaries

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

On March 31 they took over one million pounds of items including high-end fashion, handbags, jewellery and a CBE medal from a house on a street in Jesmond, while the owners were away.

The following night, the gang entered a home on a private road in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and stole designer handbags, valuables and footwear valued at over one hundred thousand pounds.

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

The group, who were described by prosecutors as professional touring burglars, wore hand coverings and face coverings, turned their mobile devices on silent as they neared their targets and attached a number plate, which had been taken from a garage in Chester-le-Street, on to their vehicle with elastic bands.

They were arrested in the Birmingham on 13 April.

Court Proceedings and Rulings

Valentino Nikolov had pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to burglary but was convicted by jurors, while his family members had all submitted guilty pleas to the same charge.

At the proceeds of crime hearing, prosecutor the prosecution said every one of the burglars had profited from their offenses to the amount 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 £1,135.50 which had previously been confiscated by police, the court heard, with two weeks to be served in prison if he failed to pay.

The remaining members had no money or property so were ordered to pay a nominal fee of £1 per person, with seven days in prison the consequence if the sum was not submitted.

The judge Spragg said if they were discovered with assets in the future, "for example operating in Italy in a sports car or possessing a property", the prosecution could seek new proceedings to "recover the sum outstanding".