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Members of an Italian clan of burglars who took more than £1.2 million valued of goods, among them from former Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak, have been mandated to pay back only £1 each.

Siblings Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo, their sister Jela and her child Charlie travelled to the northeastern of England to burgle three houses in April 2024.

The group of four were imprisoned for from six and 10 years in 2025.

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

Details of the Burglaries

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

On March 31 they took over £1m of goods including high-end fashion, purses, jewellery and a CBE medal from a house on a street in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the owners were away.

The following night, the crew entered a home on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, and stole luxury bags, jewellery and footwear valued at more than £100,000.

Following surveillance of the football club's training ground for two days, they then acted at the residence of Sweden striker Alexander Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on April 4, taking £10,000 in money, sixty-eight thousand pounds valued of jewellery and the player's £120,000 luxury car.

The group, who were described by the prosecution as professional touring thieves, used hand coverings and face coverings, turned their phones off as they approached their targets and strapped a license plate, which had been taken from a garage in a town, on to their vehicle with rubber straps.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham area on April 13.

Court Hearings and Sentencing

Valentino had denied the burglary plot but was found guilty by jurors, while his family members had all submitted admissions to the same charge.

At the criminal gains session, lawyer the prosecution said each of the burglars had profited from their crimes to the value of £1,266,285.93, which was based on what the affected parties said they had had stolen.

But Charlie Jovanovic was the only one deemed to have any funds that could be "realised", specifically £1,135.50 which had already been seized by police, the judge was informed, with two weeks to be served in prison if he defaulted.

The other three had no assets or property so were directed to make a token amount of £1 each, with seven days in incarceration the result if the sum was not paid.

The judge Robert Spragg said if they were discovered with assets in the coming years, "such as driving around Italy in a fast car or owning a property", prosecutors could initiate further action to "recover the sum outstanding".