Alexander Isak Robbers Instructed to Repay Only £1 Per Person from £1.2m Thefts
Members of an Italy-based clan of burglars who took more than £1.2m valued of goods, including from former NUFC forward Alexander Isak, have been ordered to return only £1 per person.
Brothers Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo Nikolov, their female sibling Jela and her child Charlie travelled to the north-east of England to burgle three houses in April 2024.
The foursome were imprisoned for between six and 10 years in 2025.
At a proceeds of crime hearing at the court, Jela and the brothers Nikolov were ordered to pay back £1 each while Charlie Jovanovic must hand over £1,135.
Particulars of the Break-ins
The judge was told the gang came by ferry in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2024 and used a campervan as their "headquarters", which they parked at a service area and Durham service stations while utilizing a separate vehicle to search for properties and carry out thefts.
On March 31 they took over one million pounds of items including high-end fashion, handbags, jewellery and a CBE medal from a house on a street in Jesmond, while the residents were on holiday.
The next evening, the gang entered a house on a private road in Whitburn, and took luxury bags, jewellery and footwear worth over one hundred thousand pounds.
After scouting out Newcastle United's facility for 48 hours, they then acted at the home of Swedish player Mr Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on April 4, taking ten thousand pounds in cash, £68,000 worth of jewelry and the striker's one hundred twenty thousand pound Audi RS6.
The group, who were portrayed by the prosecution as professional itinerant thieves, wore hand coverings and masks, switched their mobile devices on silent as they approached their targets and attached a license plate, which had been stolen from a garage in a town, on to their vehicle with elastic bands.
They were apprehended in the Birmingham on April 13.
Legal Hearings and Rulings
Valentino had denied conspiracy to burglary but was found guilty by jurors, while his family members had all entered guilty pleas to the identical accusation.
At the proceeds of crime session, lawyer the prosecution said each of the burglars had benefited from their offenses to the value of £1,266,285.93, which was determined by what the victims said they had had stolen.
But Charlie was the only one deemed to have any funds that could be "realised", namely £1,135.50 which had previously been confiscated by authorities, the judge heard, with 14 days to be served in prison if he defaulted.
The other three had no money or property so were ordered to pay a nominal fee of £1 per person, with seven days in prison the result if the sum was not paid.
Judge Spragg said if they were discovered with property in the future, "such as driving around in Italy in a sports car or owning a home", the prosecution could initiate new proceedings to "recover the sum outstanding".