Isak Burglars Instructed to Repay Only £1 Each from £1.2m Heists

Individuals of an Italian family of burglars who stole more than £1.2 million worth of goods, including from former Newcastle United forward Alexander Isak, have been ordered to return just £1 per person.

Siblings Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo Nikolov, their female sibling Jela and her son Charlie Jovanovic journeyed to the northeastern of the UK to raid three houses in April 2024.

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

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

Particulars of the Burglaries

The court was told the group arrived by boat in the United Kingdom on 27 March 2024 and used a campervan as their "headquarters", which they parked at Scotch Corner and Durham service rest stops while utilizing another car to scout out properties and execute thefts.

On 31 March they stole over one million pounds of goods such as high-end fashion, handbags, jewelry and a CBE medal from a house on a street in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the owners were away.

The following night, the gang entered a house on a private road in Whitburn, and stole luxury bags, valuables and shoes valued at over £100,000.

After scouting out the football club's facility for two days, they then struck at the residence of Swedish striker Alexander Isak in Darras Hall on 4 April, stealing £10,000 in money, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewelry and the striker's one hundred twenty thousand pound luxury car.

The gang, who were portrayed by prosecutors as professional itinerant thieves, wore hand coverings and face coverings, switched their mobile devices off as they approached their objectives and strapped a number 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.

Court Proceedings and Rulings

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

At the proceeds of crime session, lawyer Daniel Cordey said each of the burglars had benefited from their crimes to the amount of £1,266,285.93, which was determined by what the affected parties said they had lost.

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

The remaining members had no assets or assets so were ordered to make a token amount of £1 each, with one week in incarceration the result if the money was not submitted.

Judge Spragg said if they were found with assets in the future, "such as driving around Italy in a fast car or owning a property", prosecutors could seek further action to "recover the amount due".