🔗 Share this article

Members of an Italian family of burglars who stole more than £1.2m valued of goods, including from ex- Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak, have been ordered to pay back only £1 each.

Siblings Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo Nikolov, their female sibling Jela and her son Charlie Jovanovic journeyed to the northeastern of England to raid multiple homes in spring 2024.

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

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

Details of the Break-ins

The judge was told the gang arrived by ferry in the UK on March 27, 2024 and employed a RV as their "headquarters", which they parked at Scotch Corner and Durham service stations while utilizing a separate vehicle to scout out properties and execute burglaries.

On March 31 they took more than £1m of goods including high-end fashion, handbags, jewellery and a CBE medal from a residence on Clayton Road in Jesmond, while the owners were on holiday.

The next evening, the crew entered a home on a private road in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and stole luxury bags, valuables and footwear worth more than one hundred thousand pounds.

After scouting out the football club's training ground for 48 hours, they then acted at the residence of Sweden player Mr Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on April 4, stealing £10,000 in money, sixty-eight thousand pounds 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 thieves, wore hand coverings and masks, switched their mobile devices off as they neared their targets and strapped a license plate, which had been stolen from a auto shop in Chester-le-Street, on to their car with elastic bands.

They were arrested in the Birmingham on 13 April.

Court Hearings and Rulings

Valentino had pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to burglary but was found guilty by the court, while his three relations had all entered guilty pleas to the identical accusation.

At the proceeds of crime hearing, lawyer Daniel Cordey said each of the defendants had profited from their offenses to the value of £1,266,285.93, which was determined by what the affected parties said they had lost.

But Charlie Jovanovic was the only one deemed to have any money that could be "recovered", namely over a thousand pounds which had previously been confiscated 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 property so were directed to pay a nominal fee of £1 per person, with seven days in incarceration the consequence if the money was not paid.

The judge Robert Spragg said if they were found with assets in the coming years, "such as driving around Italy in a fast car or owning a home", the prosecution could initiate new proceedings to "satisfy the sum due".