Isak Robbers Instructed to Repay Only £1 Each from £1.2 Million Thefts
Members of an Italian clan of thieves who took over £1.2 million valued of goods, including from ex- Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak, have been mandated to pay back only £1 each.
Brothers Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo, their sister Jela and her son Charlie Jovanovic journeyed to the north-east of the UK to burgle multiple homes in spring 2024.
The foursome were jailed for from a decade or less in 2025.
At a proceeds of crime proceeding at the court, Jela and the Nikolov brothers were ordered to repay £1 per person while Charlie Jovanovic must hand over over a thousand pounds.
Particulars of the Break-ins
The court was told the gang came by boat in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2024 and used a campervan as their "headquarters", which they stationed at Scotch Corner and Durham service stations while utilizing a separate vehicle to search for properties and carry out burglaries.
On 31 March they took more than one million pounds of items including designer clothing, purses, jewelry and a honor from a residence on Clayton Road in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the residents were on holiday.
The next evening, the gang broke into a home on a private road in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and stole designer handbags, jewellery and footwear valued at more than £100,000.
Following surveillance of the football club's training ground for two days, they then struck at the residence of Swedish player Mr Isak in Darras Hall on 4 April, taking £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 the prosecution as professional itinerant thieves, used gloves and face coverings, switched their phones off 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 on April 13.
Court Hearings and Sentencing
Valentino had denied 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, prosecutor Daniel Cordey said every one of the burglars had benefited from their offenses to the value of £1,266,285.93, which was based on what the victims said they had had stolen.
But Charlie was the sole individual deemed to have any money that could be "recovered", namely over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by police, the court heard, with two weeks to be served in jail if he defaulted.
The other three had no assets or property so were ordered to make a nominal fee of £1 per person, with seven days in incarceration the result if the sum was not paid.
The judge Robert Spragg said if they were found with assets in the coming years, "for example operating in Italy in a sports car or owning a home", the prosecution could seek further action to "recover the amount outstanding".