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Individuals of an Italian family of thieves who took more than £1.2 million worth of items, including from former Newcastle United forward Alexander Isak, have been mandated to pay back just £1 per person.

Brothers Valentino and Giacomo, their sister Jela and her child Charlie travelled to the north-east of England to burgle three houses 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 and the brothers Nikolov were ordered to pay back £1 per person while Charlie Jovanovic must pay over a thousand pounds.

Details of the Burglaries

The judge was told the group arrived by boat in the UK on 27 March 2024 and employed a RV as their "base of operations", which they stationed at a service area and Durham rest stops while using a separate vehicle to search for properties and carry out thefts.

On March 31 they stole more than £1m of items such as designer clothing, purses, jewelry and a CBE medal from a house on a street in Jesmond, while the residents were away.

The next evening, the gang entered a home on a private road in Whitburn, and took designer handbags, valuables and footwear worth more than £100,000.

Following surveillance of the football club's facility for 48 hours, they then struck at the residence of Sweden striker Mr Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on 4 April, taking £10,000 in cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewellery and the player's £120,000 Audi RS6.

The gang, who were portrayed by prosecutors as professional touring thieves, wore hand coverings and masks, switched their phones on silent as they neared 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 on April 13.

Legal Proceedings and Sentencing

Valentino Nikolov had pleaded not guilty to the burglary plot but was convicted by the court, while his three relations had all entered guilty pleas to the same charge.

At the criminal gains hearing, lawyer the prosecution said every one of the defendants had benefited from their crimes to the amount 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 funds that could be "realised", namely over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by police, the judge was informed, with 14 days to be served in prison if he defaulted.

The other three had no money or property so were ordered to make a nominal fee of £1 each, with one week in prison the consequence if the sum was not paid.

Judge Robert Spragg said if they were found with assets in the future, "such as operating Italy in a sports car or owning a property", prosecutors could initiate further action to "recover the amount outstanding".