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Members of an Italy-based family of thieves who took over £1.2 million worth of items, among them from former NUFC forward Isak, have been ordered to return just £1 each.

Brothers Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo, their female sibling Jela and her child Charlie journeyed to the north-east of England to burgle multiple homes in spring 2024.

The foursome were jailed for between six and 10 years in May 2025.

At a criminal assets proceeding at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela Jovanovic and the Nikolov brothers were ordered to repay £1 each while Charlie must hand over £1,135.

Details of the Break-ins

The court was told the group came by boat in the UK on March 27, 2024 and used a campervan as their "base of operations", which they parked at a service area and Durham rest stops while utilizing a separate vehicle to search for properties and carry out thefts.

On March 31 they stole more than £1m of items such as designer clothing, handbags, jewellery and a CBE medal from a house on a street in Jesmond, while the owners were away.

The following night, the crew broke into a home on a private road in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and took designer handbags, valuables and footwear valued at over £100,000.

Following surveillance of the football club's facility for two days, they then acted at the residence of Swedish striker Mr Isak in Darras Hall on 4 April, stealing ten thousand pounds in money, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewellery and the player's one hundred twenty thousand pound luxury car.

The group, who were portrayed by the prosecution as professional touring thieves, wore gloves and masks, turned their mobile devices off as they neared their targets and attached a license plate, which had been stolen from a garage in Chester-le-Street, on to their car with elastic bands.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham on April 13.

Court Proceedings and Rulings

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

At the proceeds of crime hearing, prosecutor Daniel Cordey said each of the defendants had benefited from their crimes to the value of over £1.2 million, which was determined by what the victims said they had lost.

But Charlie Jovanovic was the only one deemed to have any money that could be "realised", namely over a thousand pounds which had previously been confiscated by authorities, the judge heard, with two weeks to be served in prison if he failed to pay.

The remaining members had no money or property so were directed to pay a nominal fee of £1 each, with seven days in incarceration the result if the sum was not paid.

Judge Spragg said if they were found with property in the future, "for example driving around in Italy in a fast car or owning a home", the prosecution could seek new proceedings to "recover the amount due".