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Members of an Italian family of burglars who took more than £1.2 million valued of items, including from ex- Newcastle United forward Isak, have been mandated to pay back only £1 each.

Brothers Valentino and Giacomo, their sister Jela Jovanovic and her son Charlie travelled to the northeastern of England to burgle three houses in spring 2024.

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

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

Details of the Burglaries

The judge was told the gang arrived by ferry in the United Kingdom on 27 March 2024 and employed a RV as their "base of operations", which they stationed at a service area and Durham service rest stops while utilizing another car to search for properties and carry out burglaries.

On March 31 they took more than one million pounds of goods such as high-end fashion, handbags, jewellery and a CBE medal from a house on Clayton Road in Jesmond, while the residents were on holiday.

The following night, the gang entered a house on a private road in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and took luxury bags, jewellery and shoes valued at over one hundred thousand pounds.

Following surveillance of Newcastle United's facility for two days, they then acted at the home of Swedish player Alexander Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on 4 April, stealing £10,000 in cash, £68,000 worth of jewellery and the player's £120,000 Audi RS6.

The group, who were portrayed by prosecutors as professional itinerant thieves, wore gloves and masks, switched their phones off as they neared their objectives and strapped a number plate, which had been stolen from a auto shop in a town, on to their vehicle with elastic bands.

They were arrested in the Birmingham on 13 April.

Court Hearings and Rulings

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

At the criminal gains hearing, lawyer the prosecution said each of the defendants had benefited from their offenses to the value of over £1.2 million, which was based on what the affected parties said they had had stolen.

But Charlie was the sole individual found to have any funds that could be "realised", namely over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by police, the court heard, with two weeks to be served in jail if he failed to pay.

The remaining members had no money or property so were ordered to pay a nominal fee of £1 per person, with seven days in prison the consequence if the money was not paid.

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