Isak Robbers Instructed to Pay Just £1 Each from £1.2m Thefts
Individuals of an Italian clan of thieves who stole more than £1.2m worth of items, including from ex- Newcastle United striker Isak, have been ordered to return only £1 per person.
Brothers Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo Nikolov, their female sibling Jela Jovanovic and her son Charlie travelled to the northeastern of the UK to burgle three houses in April 2024.
The group of four were jailed for between six and 10 years in 2025.
At a proceeds of crime hearing at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela Jovanovic and the brothers Nikolov were ordered to pay back £1 per person while Charlie Jovanovic must pay £1,135.
Particulars of the Burglaries
The court was told the gang arrived by ferry in the UK on 27 March 2024 and used a campervan as their "base of operations", which they parked at a service area and Durham service service stations while utilizing another car to scout out targets and execute burglaries.
On 31 March they stole more than one million pounds of goods including designer clothing, purses, jewelry and a honor from a residence on Clayton Road in Jesmond, while the residents were on holiday.
The following night, the gang entered a home on a private road in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and stole designer handbags, jewellery and footwear valued at over £100,000.
Following surveillance of the football club's training ground for 48 hours, they then acted at the home of Sweden striker Alexander Isak in Darras Hall on 4 April, stealing £10,000 in money, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewellery and the striker's £120,000 luxury car.
The group, who were described by the prosecution as professional itinerant thieves, wore hand coverings and face coverings, switched their phones on silent as they approached their objectives and attached a number plate, which had been stolen from a garage in a town, on to their vehicle with rubber straps.
They were apprehended in the Birmingham area on 13 April.
Legal Hearings and Rulings
Valentino had pleaded not guilty to the burglary plot but was found guilty by the court, while his family members had all submitted guilty pleas to the same charge.
At the criminal gains session, lawyer the prosecution said each of the burglars had benefited from their offenses to the amount of over £1.2 million, which was based on what the victims said they had lost.
But Charlie was the sole individual found to have any funds that could be "recovered", namely £1,135.50 which had already been seized by police, the court was informed, with two weeks to be spent in prison if he defaulted.
The remaining members had no assets or property so were ordered to make a token amount of £1 per person, with one week in incarceration the consequence if the sum was not paid.
The judge Robert Spragg said if they were found with property in the coming years, "such as driving around in Italy in a sports car or possessing a home", prosecutors could seek further action to "recover the sum due".
