Members of an Italian family of burglars who took over £1.2m worth of goods, among them from former NUFC striker Alexander Isak, have been ordered to return only £1 each.
Brothers Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo, their female sibling Jela Jovanovic and her son Charlie journeyed to the northeastern of the UK to raid multiple homes in April 2024.
The foursome were imprisoned for from six and 10 years in 2025.
At a proceeds of crime hearing at the court, Jela Jovanovic and the brothers Nikolov were ordered to repay £1 each while Charlie must hand over £1,135.
Particulars of the Break-ins
The court was told the group arrived by ferry in the UK on March 27, 2024 and used a RV as their "base of operations", which they stationed at a service area and Durham service rest stops while using another car to search for targets and execute burglaries.
On March 31 they stole over £1m of goods including designer clothing, handbags, jewelry and a honor from a house on Clayton Road in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the residents were on holiday.
The following night, the crew entered a home on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and took designer handbags, valuables and footwear valued at more than one hundred thousand pounds.
After scouting out the football club's training ground for two days, they then acted at the home of Sweden player Mr Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on April 4, taking ten thousand pounds in money, sixty-eight thousand pounds valued of jewellery and the player's £120,000 luxury car.
The group, who were portrayed by the prosecution as professional touring thieves, wore gloves and face coverings, switched their phones on silent as they neared their targets and attached a license plate, which had been stolen from a auto shop in a town, on to their car with rubber straps.
They were apprehended in the Birmingham on 13 April.
Court Hearings and Sentencing
Valentino Nikolov had denied the burglary plot but was convicted by the court, while his three relations had all entered admissions to the identical accusation.
At the criminal gains session, prosecutor the prosecution said every one of the defendants had profited 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 found to have any money that could be "realised", specifically over a thousand pounds which had previously been confiscated by police, the court heard, with 14 days to be spent in prison if he failed to pay.
The remaining members had no assets or assets so were ordered to pay a token amount of £1 per person, with one week in incarceration 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 Italy in a fast car or owning a home", the prosecution could initiate further action to "recover the sum outstanding".
