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Members of an Italy-based clan of thieves who took over £1.2m valued of goods, including from ex- Newcastle United forward Isak, have been mandated to return only £1 each.

Siblings Valentino and Giacomo, their female sibling Jela Jovanovic and her son Charlie travelled to the northeastern of England to burgle multiple homes in April 2024.

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

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

Details of the Burglaries

The judge was told the group arrived by ferry in the United Kingdom on 27 March 2024 and employed a campervan as their "headquarters", which they parked at Scotch Corner and Durham service rest stops while using another car to scout out targets and carry out burglaries.

On 31 March they took over one million pounds of goods such as designer clothing, handbags, jewellery and a honor from a house on Clayton Road in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the residents were on holiday.

The next evening, the gang entered a house on a private road in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and stole luxury bags, jewellery and footwear valued at more than one hundred thousand pounds.

Following surveillance of Newcastle United's facility for two days, they then acted at the residence of Sweden striker Alexander Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on April 4, taking ten thousand pounds in cash, £68,000 worth of jewellery and the striker's one hundred twenty thousand pound Audi RS6.

The gang, who were portrayed by prosecutors as professional touring burglars, used gloves and masks, switched their mobile devices on silent as they neared their objectives and attached a license plate, which had been taken from a auto shop in Chester-le-Street, on to their vehicle with elastic bands.

They were arrested in the Birmingham on 13 April.

Legal Proceedings and Rulings

Valentino Nikolov had denied the burglary plot but was convicted by jurors, while his family members had all submitted guilty pleas to the same charge.

At the criminal gains session, prosecutor Daniel Cordey said every one 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 found to have any money that could be "realised", namely £1,135.50 which had already been seized by police, the judge was informed, with two weeks to be spent in prison if he failed to pay.

The other three had no assets or property so were directed to make a token amount of £1 per person, with seven days in incarceration the result if the money was not paid.

Judge Robert Spragg said if they were found with property in the coming years, "such as operating in Italy in a sports car or possessing a property", the prosecution could seek new proceedings to "satisfy the amount due".