Isak Robbers Instructed to Repay Only £1 Each from £1.2m Thefts
Individuals of an Italian clan of burglars who took over £1.2 million valued of goods, among them from former Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak, have been ordered to pay back only £1 per person.
Siblings Valentino and Giacomo Nikolov, their female sibling Jela and her child Charlie travelled to the northeastern of England to burgle multiple homes in spring 2024.
The group of four were imprisoned for from a decade or less in 2025.
At a proceeds of crime proceeding at the court, Jela Jovanovic and the Nikolov brothers were ordered to repay £1 per person while Charlie Jovanovic must pay over a thousand pounds.
Particulars of the Break-ins
The court was told the group came by ferry in the UK on March 27, 2024 and employed a campervan as their "base of operations", which they stationed at Scotch Corner and Durham service stations while using another car to search for properties and execute burglaries.
On 31 March they stole over £1m of items including high-end fashion, purses, jewelry and a honor from a residence on Clayton Road in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the owners were on holiday.
The next evening, the crew broke into a home on a private road in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and took designer handbags, valuables and shoes worth over one hundred thousand pounds.
After scouting out the football club's training ground for two days, they then struck at the residence of Swedish striker Mr Isak in Darras Hall on 4 April, stealing £10,000 in cash, £68,000 worth of jewelry and the striker's one hundred twenty thousand pound luxury car.
The gang, who were portrayed by the prosecution as experienced touring thieves, wore hand coverings and face coverings, turned their mobile devices on silent as they neared their objectives and strapped a license plate, which had been stolen 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 Proceedings and Rulings
Valentino Nikolov had pleaded not guilty to the burglary plot but was found guilty by the court, while his three relations had all entered admissions to the identical accusation.
At the proceeds of crime session, prosecutor Daniel Cordey said every one of the defendants had benefited from their offenses to the value of £1,266,285.93, which was based on what the affected parties said they had lost.
But Charlie was the only one deemed to have any money that could be "realised", namely over a thousand pounds which had previously been confiscated by police, the court was informed, with 14 days to be served in prison if he failed to pay.
The other three had no assets or property so were directed to make a token amount of £1 per person, with one week in incarceration the consequence if the sum was not submitted.
The judge Spragg said if they were found with property in the coming years, "for example driving around Italy in a fast car or owning a property", prosecutors could initiate further action to "satisfy the amount outstanding".