🔗 Share this article

Individuals of an Italy-based family of thieves who took more than £1.2 million worth of goods, among them from former Newcastle United striker Isak, have been mandated to pay back only £1 per person.

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

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

At a criminal assets hearing at the court, Jela and the Nikolov brothers were instructed to repay £1 per person while Charlie Jovanovic must pay over a thousand pounds.

Details of the Burglaries

The judge was told the group came by ferry in the UK on March 27, 2024 and used a RV as their "headquarters", which they parked at Scotch Corner and Durham rest stops while using another car to search for targets and carry out thefts.

On 31 March they took more than one million pounds of goods including high-end fashion, handbags, jewelry and a CBE medal from a house on a street in Jesmond, while the residents were away.

The next evening, the crew broke into a house on a private road in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and took designer handbags, valuables and footwear worth over £100,000.

Following surveillance of the football club's training ground for 48 hours, they then acted at the home of Sweden player Mr Isak in Darras Hall on April 4, taking ten thousand pounds in money, sixty-eight thousand pounds valued of jewelry and the striker's one hundred twenty thousand pound Audi RS6.

The gang, who were portrayed by prosecutors as professional itinerant burglars, used gloves and masks, turned their phones off as they approached their targets and attached a number plate, which had been taken from a auto shop in a town, on to their car with elastic bands.

They were arrested in the Birmingham on 13 April.

Court Hearings and Sentencing

Valentino had denied conspiracy to burglary but was found guilty by the court, while his three relations had all entered guilty pleas to the same charge.

At the criminal gains session, lawyer the prosecution said every one of the burglars had profited from their offenses to the amount of over £1.2 million, which was determined by what the victims said they had had stolen.

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

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

Judge Robert Spragg said if they were found with property in the coming years, "such as operating in Italy in a sports car or possessing a property", prosecutors could seek new proceedings to "recover the amount due".