Isak Burglars Ordered to Repay Just £1 Per Person from £1.2 Million Thefts
Individuals of an Italy-based clan of thieves who took over £1.2 million worth of goods, among them from ex- Newcastle United forward Isak, have been mandated to return only £1 per person.
Siblings Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo, their sister Jela Jovanovic and her child Charlie journeyed to the northeastern of the UK to raid multiple homes in April 2024.
The group of four were jailed for between a decade or less in 2025.
At a proceeds of crime proceeding at the court, Jela Jovanovic and the brothers Nikolov were ordered to repay £1 per person while Charlie Jovanovic must hand over over a thousand pounds.
Details of the Break-ins
The judge was told the gang came by boat in the UK on March 27, 2024 and employed a campervan as their "headquarters", which they parked at Scotch Corner and Durham service service stations while using another car to scout out properties and execute burglaries.
On 31 March they stole over £1m of goods including high-end fashion, handbags, jewelry and a CBE medal from a residence on Clayton Road in Jesmond, while the owners were on holiday.
The next evening, the gang broke into a house on a private road in Whitburn, and took designer handbags, jewellery and footwear valued at over one hundred thousand pounds.
After scouting out Newcastle United's training ground for 48 hours, they then acted at the residence of Sweden striker Mr Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on 4 April, stealing £10,000 in money, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewelry and the player's one hundred twenty thousand pound luxury car.
The group, who were described by prosecutors as experienced touring burglars, wore gloves and face coverings, turned their phones on silent as they approached their objectives and strapped a number plate, which had been taken from a auto shop in Chester-le-Street, on to their car with elastic bands.
They were arrested in the Birmingham area on April 13.
Legal Hearings and Sentencing
Valentino had denied conspiracy to burglary but was convicted by jurors, while his family members had all entered guilty pleas to the identical accusation.
At the criminal gains hearing, prosecutor the prosecution said each of the burglars had benefited from their crimes to the amount of £1,266,285.93, which was determined by what the victims said they had lost.
But Charlie was the only one found to have any money that could be "realised", namely over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by police, the court was informed, with 14 days to be spent in jail 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 prison the consequence if the sum was not paid.
Judge Spragg said if they were discovered with assets in the future, "such as driving around in Italy in a fast car or possessing a home", prosecutors could seek further action to "satisfy the sum due".