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Individuals of an Italy-based family of burglars who took over £1.2 million worth of goods, among them from former Newcastle United forward Alexander Isak, have been ordered to pay back just £1 each.

Siblings Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo Nikolov, their sister Jela Jovanovic and her child Charlie travelled to the north-east of the UK to raid three houses in spring 2024.

The foursome were imprisoned for from six and 10 years in 2025.

At a proceeds of crime hearing at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela and the brothers Nikolov were ordered to repay £1 per person while Charlie Jovanovic must hand over over a thousand pounds.

Details of the Break-ins

The court was told the gang came by ferry in the UK on 27 March 2024 and used a campervan as their "headquarters", which they parked at Scotch Corner and Durham service service stations while using a separate vehicle to search for properties and carry out thefts.

On March 31 they took more than one million pounds of goods including designer clothing, handbags, jewellery and a CBE medal from a residence on a street in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the residents were on holiday.

The following night, the crew entered a home on a private road in Whitburn, and took designer handbags, jewellery and footwear worth over £100,000.

After scouting out the football club's training ground for 48 hours, they then struck at the home of Sweden striker Alexander Isak in Darras Hall on April 4, stealing ten thousand pounds in cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewelry and the striker's £120,000 Audi RS6.

The group, who were described by prosecutors as professional itinerant burglars, wore hand coverings and masks, switched their phones on silent as they approached their targets and attached a number plate, which had been stolen from a garage in a town, on to their vehicle with elastic bands.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham area on April 13.

Court Proceedings and Sentencing

Valentino Nikolov had pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to burglary but was found guilty by jurors, while his three relations had all entered admissions to the same charge.

At the proceeds of crime session, prosecutor the prosecution said every one of the defendants had benefited from their crimes to the value of over £1.2 million, which was determined by what the affected parties said they had lost.

But Charlie was the only one deemed to have any funds that could be "realised", specifically over a thousand pounds which had previously been confiscated by police, the judge heard, with 14 days to be served in jail if he defaulted.

The remaining members had no assets or property so were ordered to pay a nominal fee of £1 per person, with seven days in prison the result if the sum was not paid.

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