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Members of an Italian family of burglars who stole more than £1.2m valued of items, among them from former NUFC forward Alexander Isak, have been ordered to return only £1 per person.

Brothers Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo, their female sibling Jela and her son Charlie travelled to the north-east of the UK to burgle three houses in April 2024.

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

At a criminal assets proceeding at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela and the Nikolov brothers were ordered to pay back £1 each while Charlie must pay £1,135.

Details of the Break-ins

The court was told the gang came by ferry in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2024 and employed a campervan as their "base of operations", which they parked at a service area and Durham service stations while utilizing another car to search for targets and execute thefts.

On March 31 they took more than £1m of items such as designer clothing, purses, jewellery and a honor from a house on a street in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the owners were away.

The following night, the crew entered a home on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, and stole designer handbags, valuables and footwear valued at over one hundred thousand pounds.

After scouting out the football club's training ground for two days, they then struck at the home of Swedish player Alexander Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on 4 April, stealing ten thousand pounds in money, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewelry and the striker's £120,000 Audi RS6.

The group, who were portrayed by prosecutors as experienced itinerant burglars, wore gloves and masks, turned their phones on silent as they approached their targets and attached a number plate, which had been taken from a garage in Chester-le-Street, on to their vehicle with rubber straps.

They were arrested in the Birmingham on April 13.

Court Proceedings and Sentencing

Valentino Nikolov had denied the burglary plot but was found guilty by the court, while his three relations had all entered admissions to the identical accusation.

At the proceeds of crime session, prosecutor Daniel Cordey said every one of the burglars had profited from their crimes to the value of £1,266,285.93, which was determined by what the victims said they had had stolen.

But Charlie was the sole individual found to have any money that could be "recovered", specifically over a thousand pounds which had previously been confiscated by police, the court heard, with 14 days to be served in jail if he failed to pay.

The remaining members had no money or assets so were ordered to pay a nominal fee of £1 each, with seven days in incarceration the result if the money was not submitted.

The judge Spragg said if they were found with property in the coming years, "such as driving around Italy in a fast car or possessing a home", the prosecution could initiate further action to "recover the amount due".