Alexander Isak Burglars Ordered to Pay Only £1 Each from £1.2 Million Heists

Individuals of an Italy-based family of burglars who stole more than £1.2 million worth of goods, including from ex- Newcastle United forward Alexander Isak, have been mandated to pay back only £1 each.

Brothers Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo Nikolov, their sister Jela Jovanovic and her child Charlie travelled to the northeastern of England to raid multiple homes in spring 2024.

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

At a proceeds of crime hearing at the court, Jela and the brothers Nikolov were instructed to pay back £1 each while Charlie Jovanovic must hand over over a thousand pounds.

Details of the Burglaries

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

On March 31 they stole 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 gang broke into a house on a private road in Whitburn, and stole designer handbags, jewellery and shoes worth over one hundred thousand pounds.

After scouting out Newcastle United's training ground for 48 hours, they then struck at the residence of Sweden player Alexander Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on April 4, stealing £10,000 in cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewellery and the striker's £120,000 luxury car.

The gang, who were portrayed by the prosecution as professional touring thieves, wore hand coverings and face coverings, turned their mobile devices off as they approached their targets and attached a number plate, which had been stolen from a auto shop in a town, on to their vehicle with elastic bands.

They were arrested in the Birmingham area on 13 April.

Court Hearings and Sentencing

Valentino had denied conspiracy to burglary but was found guilty by jurors, while his family members had all submitted admissions to the identical accusation.

At the criminal gains hearing, lawyer the prosecution said every one of the burglars had benefited from their crimes to the amount of over £1.2 million, which was based on what the victims said they had had stolen.

But Charlie Jovanovic was the sole individual deemed to have any money that could be "recovered", namely over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by authorities, the court was informed, with 14 days to be spent in jail if he defaulted.

The remaining members had no assets or assets so were directed to make a token amount of £1 each, with one week in prison the consequence if the sum was not paid.

Judge Spragg said if they were discovered with property in the future, "for example operating Italy in a sports car or owning a property", prosecutors could initiate further action to "recover the sum due".