🔗 Share this article

Individuals of an Italian family of burglars who took over £1.2m worth of items, including from former Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak, have been mandated to return just £1 per person.

Siblings Valentino and Giacomo, their female sibling Jela Jovanovic and her child Charlie journeyed to the northeastern of the UK to raid three houses in April 2024.

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

At a proceeds of crime hearing at the court, Jela and the brothers Nikolov were ordered to pay back £1 each while Charlie must pay £1,135.

Details of the Break-ins

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

On 31 March they took over £1m of items such as designer clothing, handbags, jewellery and a honor from a residence on Clayton Road in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the owners were away.

The following night, the gang broke into a house on a private road in Whitburn, and took luxury bags, jewellery and footwear valued at more than one hundred thousand pounds.

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

The gang, who were portrayed by prosecutors as experienced itinerant thieves, used gloves and face coverings, switched their phones off as they neared their targets and attached a license plate, which had been taken from a auto shop in a town, on to their vehicle with rubber straps.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham on April 13.

Legal Hearings and Sentencing

Valentino Nikolov had denied conspiracy to burglary but was found guilty by the court, while his three relations had all submitted guilty pleas to the identical accusation.

At the criminal gains hearing, lawyer the prosecution said each of the defendants had profited from their offenses to the value of £1,266,285.93, which was based on what the affected parties said they had lost.

But Charlie Jovanovic was the sole individual deemed to have any money that could be "recovered", specifically over a thousand pounds which had previously been confiscated by authorities, the judge heard, with 14 days to be spent in prison if he defaulted.

The remaining members had no money or assets so were directed to make a nominal fee of £1 each, with seven days in prison the consequence if the sum was not submitted.

The judge Robert Spragg said if they were discovered with assets in the future, "for example operating in Italy in a sports car or owning a property", the prosecution could seek further action to "recover the sum outstanding".