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- By Judy Chang
- 07 Jul 2026
Members of an Italian clan of burglars who stole over £1.2 million valued of items, including from ex- Newcastle United forward Alexander Isak, have been ordered to return just £1 each.
Siblings Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo Nikolov, their sister Jela Jovanovic and her child Charlie travelled to the northeastern of England to burgle three houses in April 2024.
The foursome were imprisoned for from a decade or less in 2025.
At a criminal assets hearing at the court, Jela and the Nikolov brothers were ordered to repay £1 per person while Charlie must pay over a thousand pounds.
The court previously heard 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 carry out burglaries.
On 31 March they stole over one million pounds of goods including high-end fashion, handbags, jewelry and a CBE medal from a residence on a street in Jesmond, while the residents were away.
The next evening, the gang broke into a house on a private road in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and took designer handbags, valuables and shoes valued at over £100,000.
After scouting out Newcastle United's training ground 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 cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds valued of jewelry and the striker's one hundred twenty thousand pound luxury car.
The group, who were portrayed by the prosecution as experienced itinerant burglars, used gloves and face coverings, switched their mobile devices on silent as they neared their targets and attached a license plate, which had been taken from a auto shop in Chester-le-Street, on to their vehicle with rubber straps.
They were apprehended in the Birmingham on April 13.
Valentino had pleaded not guilty to the burglary plot but was convicted by jurors, while his family members had all entered guilty pleas to the same charge.
At the proceeds of crime hearing, prosecutor Daniel Cordey said every one of the burglars had profited from their offenses to the amount of over £1.2 million, which was determined by what the victims said they had lost.
But Charlie was the sole individual found to have any funds that could be "recovered", namely over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by authorities, the judge heard, with two weeks to be served in jail 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 one week in incarceration the result if the money was not submitted.
The judge Robert Spragg said if they were found with property in the future, "such as driving around Italy in a fast car or owning a property", prosecutors could initiate new proceedings to "satisfy the amount due".
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