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

Siblings Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo Nikolov, their sister Jela and her child Charlie Jovanovic travelled to the northeastern of England to burgle three houses in April 2024.

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

At a criminal assets proceeding at the court, Jela Jovanovic and the Nikolov brothers were instructed to pay back £1 per person while Charlie must pay £1,135.

Details of the Burglaries

The court was told the gang came by boat in the UK on March 27, 2024 and employed a RV as their "base of operations", which they parked at Scotch Corner and Durham rest stops while using a separate vehicle to search for properties and carry out burglaries.

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

The next evening, the crew entered a house on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, and took luxury bags, valuables and shoes worth over £100,000.

Following surveillance of Newcastle United's facility for two days, they then struck at the home of Sweden player Mr Isak in Darras Hall on 4 April, taking ten thousand pounds in cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds valued of jewellery and the player's £120,000 Audi RS6.

The group, who were portrayed by the prosecution as professional touring thieves, used gloves and masks, turned their mobile devices on silent as they neared their objectives and strapped a number plate, which had been stolen from a garage in Chester-le-Street, on to their vehicle with rubber straps.

They were arrested in the Birmingham on 13 April.

Court Hearings and Rulings

Valentino Nikolov had denied 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, lawyer Daniel Cordey said each of the defendants had benefited from their crimes to the amount of £1,266,285.93, which was based on what the victims said they had lost.

But Charlie Jovanovic was the sole individual found to have any money that could be "recovered", specifically over a thousand pounds which had previously been confiscated by police, the judge was informed, with two weeks to be served in jail if he failed to pay.

The other three had no assets or assets so were ordered to make a token amount of £1 each, with one week in prison the result if the money was not paid.

The judge Robert Spragg said if they were found with property in the coming years, "such as operating Italy in a fast car or owning a home", prosecutors could seek new proceedings to "satisfy the amount due".