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Members of an Italian family of thieves who stole more than £1.2m worth of items, including from former Newcastle United forward Alexander Isak, have been mandated to pay back just £1 each.

Brothers Valentino and Giacomo Nikolov, their sister Jela and her son Charlie journeyed to the northeastern of England to raid multiple homes in April 2024.

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

At a criminal assets hearing at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela and the brothers Nikolov were ordered to repay £1 per person while Charlie must pay over a thousand pounds.

Details of the Break-ins

The judge previously heard the group came by boat in the UK on 27 March 2024 and employed a campervan as their "headquarters", which they stationed at Scotch Corner and Durham service stations while utilizing a separate vehicle to scout out properties and execute thefts.

On March 31 they stole more than £1m of items including high-end fashion, purses, jewelry and a CBE medal from a residence on a street in Jesmond, while the residents were away.

The following night, the gang broke into a house on a private road in Whitburn, and took designer handbags, jewellery and footwear worth more than £100,000.

After scouting out the football club's training ground for 48 hours, they then acted at the residence of Swedish player Alexander Isak in Darras Hall on April 4, stealing £10,000 in money, £68,000 valued of jewelry and the player's £120,000 luxury car.

The group, who were described by the prosecution as experienced touring burglars, wore hand coverings and masks, turned their phones on silent as they approached their targets and strapped a license plate, which had been taken from a garage in a town, on to their car with elastic bands.

They were arrested in the Birmingham area on 13 April.

Legal Proceedings and Sentencing

Valentino Nikolov had pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to burglary but was found guilty by the court, while his family members had all entered admissions to the same charge.

At the criminal gains hearing, prosecutor Daniel Cordey said each of the burglars had profited from their offenses to the value of over £1.2 million, which was based on what the affected parties said they had lost.

But Charlie Jovanovic was the sole individual found to have any funds that could be "realised", specifically £1,135.50 which had already been seized by police, the court heard, with two weeks to be spent in prison if he failed to pay.

The other three had no money or property so were ordered to pay a token amount of £1 per person, with seven days in incarceration the result if the money was not paid.

Judge Spragg said if they were found with property in the future, "for example operating in Italy in a sports car or possessing a home", the prosecution could seek further action to "recover the amount due".