Alexander Isak Burglars Instructed to Pay Only £1 Per Person from £1.2m Thefts

Individuals of an Italian family of burglars who stole more than £1.2m worth of items, among them from former NUFC striker Isak, have been mandated to return only £1 each.

Siblings Valentino and Giacomo Nikolov, their sister Jela Jovanovic and her son Charlie Jovanovic travelled to the northeastern of England to burgle multiple homes in April 2024.

The group of four were jailed for between a decade or less in 2025.

At a proceeds of crime proceeding at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela Jovanovic and the Nikolov brothers were ordered to pay back £1 per person while Charlie must pay £1,135.

Particulars of the Break-ins

The judge was told the gang came by ferry in the UK on March 27, 2024 and used a campervan as their "base of operations", which they parked at Scotch Corner and Durham service stations while using another car to search for properties and carry out burglaries.

On 31 March they stole over one million pounds of items including high-end fashion, purses, jewelry and a CBE medal from a residence on Clayton Road in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the residents were on holiday.

The next evening, the gang broke into a house on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and stole luxury bags, valuables and shoes worth over one hundred thousand pounds.

After scouting out Newcastle United's training ground for two days, they then struck at the home of Swedish striker Alexander Isak in Darras Hall on April 4, taking ten thousand pounds in money, £68,000 worth of jewelry and the player's £120,000 luxury car.

The group, who were described by prosecutors as professional itinerant thieves, used hand coverings and masks, switched their mobile devices on silent as they neared their objectives and strapped a license plate, which had been taken from a garage in Chester-le-Street, on to their vehicle with elastic bands.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham area on April 13.

Legal Proceedings and Rulings

Valentino had pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to burglary but was found guilty by the court, while his three relations had all submitted guilty pleas to the same charge.

At the proceeds of crime hearing, prosecutor the prosecution said each of the defendants had benefited from their crimes to the value of £1,266,285.93, which was based on what the victims said they had had stolen.

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

The other three had no assets or assets so were directed to make a nominal fee of £1 per person, with one week in incarceration the consequence if the money was not paid.

Judge Spragg said if they were discovered with assets in the future, "such as driving around in Italy in a sports car or possessing a home", prosecutors could initiate further action to "satisfy the amount due".