Isak Robbers Instructed to Repay Only £1 Each from £1.2m Heists
Individuals of an Italian clan of burglars who took over £1.2 million worth of items, including from ex- NUFC forward Alexander Isak, have been mandated to return only £1 each.
Siblings Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo, their female sibling Jela Jovanovic and her son Charlie Jovanovic journeyed to the north-east of England to burgle three houses in April 2024.
The group of four were imprisoned for between six and 10 years in 2025.
At a criminal assets hearing at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela and the brothers Nikolov were instructed to repay £1 per person while Charlie must hand over over a thousand pounds.
Details of the Break-ins
The court previously heard the gang came by boat in the UK on March 27, 2024 and employed a RV as their "base of operations", which they stationed at Scotch Corner and Durham service rest stops while utilizing a separate vehicle to scout out properties and execute burglaries.
On 31 March they took over one million pounds of items including designer clothing, handbags, jewellery and a honor from a residence on Clayton Road in Jesmond, while the owners were on holiday.
The next evening, the gang entered a home on a private road in Whitburn, and took luxury bags, valuables and footwear worth more than one hundred thousand pounds.
Following surveillance of Newcastle United's facility for 48 hours, they then struck at the residence of Sweden striker Mr Isak in Darras Hall on 4 April, stealing £10,000 in cash, £68,000 worth of jewellery and the player's one hundred twenty thousand pound luxury car.
The gang, who were described by the prosecution as professional itinerant thieves, used hand coverings and masks, turned their mobile devices off as they neared their objectives and strapped a license plate, which had been stolen from a garage in a town, on to their car with rubber straps.
They were apprehended in the Birmingham on April 13.
Court Proceedings and Sentencing
Valentino had denied conspiracy to burglary but was convicted by the court, while his family members had all entered guilty pleas to the same charge.
At the proceeds of crime session, lawyer the prosecution said every one of the defendants had benefited from their offenses to the value of over £1.2 million, which was based on what the affected parties said they had lost.
But Charlie Jovanovic was the sole individual deemed to have any funds that could be "realised", specifically over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by authorities, the judge heard, with 14 days to be spent in prison if he defaulted.
The other three had no money or assets so were ordered to pay a token amount of £1 each, with one week in incarceration the result if the money was not submitted.
Judge Spragg said if they were found with property in the future, "for example driving around Italy in a fast car or owning a property", prosecutors could initiate further action to "recover the sum due".
