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Members of an Italy-based family of burglars who took more than £1.2 million valued of items, among them from former NUFC striker Alexander Isak, have been ordered to return only £1 each.

Brothers Valentino and Giacomo, their sister Jela Jovanovic and her child Charlie journeyed to the northeastern of the UK to burgle three houses in April 2024.

The foursome were jailed for from a decade or less in 2025.

At a criminal assets hearing at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela Jovanovic and the Nikolov brothers were ordered to pay back £1 each while Charlie Jovanovic must pay £1,135.

Particulars of the Break-ins

The court previously heard the group came by boat in the United Kingdom on 27 March 2024 and employed a campervan as their "headquarters", which they parked at a service area and Durham service rest stops while using a separate vehicle to search for properties and execute thefts.

On 31 March they stole more than £1m of items including high-end fashion, purses, jewelry and a honor from a residence on Clayton Road in Jesmond, while the residents were on holiday.

The next evening, the crew entered a house on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and took luxury bags, jewellery and shoes valued at over one hundred thousand pounds.

After scouting out Newcastle United's training ground for two days, they then acted at the home of Swedish player Alexander Isak in Darras Hall on 4 April, stealing ten thousand pounds in cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewellery and the player's one hundred twenty thousand pound Audi RS6.

The gang, who were portrayed by the prosecution as professional itinerant burglars, used hand coverings and masks, turned their phones off as they approached their targets and attached a number 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 on 13 April.

Legal Hearings and Rulings

Valentino Nikolov had pleaded not guilty to the burglary plot but was convicted by jurors, while his three relations had all entered guilty pleas to the same charge.

At the proceeds of crime session, lawyer the prosecution said each of the burglars had profited from their offenses to the amount of over £1.2 million, which was based on what the victims said they had lost.

But Charlie Jovanovic was the sole individual deemed to have any money that could be "realised", namely £1,135.50 which had already been seized by police, the judge was informed, with 14 days to be served in jail if he failed to pay.

The other three had no money or assets so were directed to pay 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 found with property in the future, "for example driving around Italy in a fast car or owning a property", the prosecution could initiate further action to "satisfy the amount outstanding".