Alexander Isak Burglars Instructed to Pay Only £1 Each from £1.2m Heists
Members of an Italian clan of burglars who took over £1.2m worth of items, including from ex- NUFC forward Isak, have been ordered to pay back just £1 each.
Siblings Valentino and Giacomo Nikolov, their female sibling Jela and her son Charlie Jovanovic travelled to the northeastern of the UK to burgle multiple homes in spring 2024.
The foursome were imprisoned for from a decade or less in 2025.
At a proceeds of crime proceeding at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela Jovanovic and the brothers Nikolov were ordered to repay £1 per person while Charlie Jovanovic must hand over over a thousand pounds.
Particulars of the Break-ins
The judge was told the group arrived by ferry in the United Kingdom on 27 March 2024 and used a campervan as their "base of operations", which they stationed at Scotch Corner and Durham rest stops while utilizing another car to scout out properties and execute burglaries.
On March 31 they stole more than £1m of goods such as high-end fashion, purses, jewellery and a honor from a residence on Clayton Road in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the residents were on holiday.
The next evening, the crew entered a house on a private road in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and stole designer handbags, jewellery and shoes valued at over £100,000.
After scouting out the football club's training ground for two days, they then acted at the home of Sweden player Alexander Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on April 4, taking £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 the prosecution as experienced itinerant thieves, used hand coverings and masks, switched their phones off as they approached their objectives and strapped a number plate, which had been taken from a garage in Chester-le-Street, on to their car with elastic bands.
They were apprehended in the Birmingham area on April 13.
Legal Hearings and Sentencing
Valentino Nikolov had pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to burglary but was found guilty by the court, while his family members had all entered admissions to the identical accusation.
At the criminal gains hearing, prosecutor Daniel Cordey said each of the burglars had profited from their offenses to the value of over £1.2 million, which was determined by what the affected parties said they had lost.
But Charlie was the only one deemed to have any money that could be "recovered", specifically over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by authorities, the judge was informed, with 14 days to be served in prison if he failed to pay.
The other three had no money or property so were ordered to make a token amount of £1 each, with seven days in prison the result if the money was not submitted.
The judge Robert 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 initiate further action to "satisfy the amount outstanding".