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Members of an Italy-based family of thieves who stole more than £1.2m worth of items, including from ex- NUFC forward Isak, have been mandated to return just £1 per person.

Brothers Valentino and Giacomo, their female sibling Jela Jovanovic and her son Charlie Jovanovic journeyed to the north-east of the UK to burgle multiple homes in spring 2024.

The group of four were imprisoned for from six and 10 years in 2025.

At a proceeds of crime hearing at the court, Jela Jovanovic and the brothers Nikolov were ordered to pay back £1 each while Charlie Jovanovic must pay £1,135.

Details of the Break-ins

The court was told the gang arrived by boat in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2024 and used 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 thefts.

On 31 March they took over one million pounds of goods including high-end fashion, purses, jewellery and a CBE medal from a house on a street in Jesmond, while the owners were on holiday.

The next evening, the gang broke into a home on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and took designer handbags, jewellery and footwear valued at more than one hundred thousand pounds.

Following surveillance of the football club's training ground for two days, they then struck at the home of Swedish player Alexander Isak in Darras Hall on 4 April, taking ten thousand pounds in cash, £68,000 valued of jewellery and the striker's £120,000 Audi RS6.

The gang, who were described by prosecutors as experienced itinerant thieves, wore gloves and face coverings, turned their phones off as they neared their objectives and strapped a number plate, which had been stolen from a auto shop in Chester-le-Street, on to their vehicle with rubber straps.

They were arrested in the Birmingham area on 13 April.

Legal Hearings and Sentencing

Valentino Nikolov had pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to burglary but was convicted by jurors, while his three relations had all submitted guilty pleas to the identical accusation.

At the proceeds of crime hearing, lawyer the prosecution said every one of the defendants had profited from their crimes to the amount of £1,266,285.93, which was based on what the victims said they had had stolen.

But Charlie Jovanovic was the sole individual found to have any funds that could be "realised", namely over a thousand pounds which had previously been confiscated by authorities, the judge was informed, with two weeks to be served in prison if he defaulted.

The other three had no assets or property so were ordered to make a token amount of £1 each, with one week in prison the result if the sum was not submitted.

Judge Robert Spragg said if they were discovered with property in the future, "for example operating in Italy in a fast car or owning a home", prosecutors could seek further action to "recover the amount due".