Isak Burglars Instructed to Repay Only £1 Per Person from £1.2m Heists

Burglary suspects
Giacomo Nikolov admitted participating in the burglaries

Individuals of an Italian family of burglars who stole over £1.2 million worth of goods, including from former Newcastle United forward Isak, have been mandated to return just £1 each.

Siblings Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo, their sister Jela Jovanovic and her child Charlie journeyed to the northeastern of the UK to burgle three houses in April 2024.

The foursome were imprisoned for from a decade or less in 2025.

At a criminal assets proceeding at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela Jovanovic and the Nikolov brothers were ordered to repay £1 per person while Charlie Jovanovic must pay over a thousand pounds.

Details of the Break-ins

The judge was told the group came by boat in the United Kingdom on 27 March 2024 and used a campervan as their "base of operations", which they parked at Scotch Corner and Durham service rest stops while using another car to search for targets and carry out burglaries.

On March 31 they took more than one million pounds of items including designer clothing, purses, jewellery and a honor from a residence on Clayton Road in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the residents were away.

Valentino Nikolov
Valentino was the sole member of the foursome to deny the charge but was found guilty by the jury

The next evening, the crew entered a home on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, and stole designer handbags, valuables and shoes worth over £100,000.

Following surveillance of Newcastle United's facility for 48 hours, they then struck at the residence of Sweden striker Mr Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on 4 April, taking £10,000 in cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds valued of jewelry and the player's £120,000 luxury car.

The gang, who were described by the prosecution as experienced itinerant thieves, used hand coverings and face coverings, turned their mobile devices on silent as they neared their objectives and attached a license plate, which had been stolen from a auto shop in a town, on to their car with rubber straps.

They were arrested in the Birmingham area on 13 April.

Alexander Isak's home
Thieves stole cash and jewellery valued at eighty thousand pounds and an car from then-Newcastle United striker Isak's home

Court Proceedings and Sentencing

Valentino had pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to burglary but was found guilty by the court, while his three relations had all entered admissions to the identical accusation.

At the criminal gains hearing, prosecutor the prosecution said each of the defendants had profited from their crimes to the amount of over £1.2 million, which was based on what the victims said they had had stolen.

But Charlie Jovanovic was the only one found to have any funds that could be "recovered", specifically over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by authorities, the court heard, with two weeks to be served in prison if he defaulted.

The remaining members had no money or property so were directed to make a token amount of £1 per person, with seven days in prison the result if the sum was not submitted.

The judge Robert Spragg said if they were discovered with property in the coming years, "such as operating in Italy in a fast car or owning a home", prosecutors could seek new proceedings to "recover the sum due".

Deborah Rodriguez
Deborah Rodriguez

A seasoned travel writer and photographer with a passion for uncovering hidden gems and sharing authentic stories from around the globe.