Isak Burglars Ordered to Repay Just £1 Each from £1.2m Heists

Burglary suspects
Jela Jovanovic admitted their involvement in the burglaries

Individuals of an Italy-based family of thieves who took over £1.2 million worth of goods, among them from former NUFC forward Alexander Isak, have been ordered to return just £1 each.

Brothers Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo Nikolov, their female sibling Jela and her child Charlie travelled to the northeastern of England to burgle multiple homes in April 2024.

The group of four were jailed for from a decade or less in May 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 must pay £1,135.

Particulars of the Break-ins

The court previously heard the group arrived by boat in the UK on March 27, 2024 and used a RV as their "headquarters", which they parked at Scotch Corner and Durham service service stations while utilizing another car to scout out properties and execute thefts.

On 31 March they took more than £1m of items such as designer clothing, handbags, jewellery and a CBE medal from a residence on Clayton Road in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the residents were away.

Valentino Nikolov
Valentino was the only one of the group to deny burglary but was convicted by the jury

The next evening, the crew broke into a home on a private road in Whitburn, and stole designer handbags, jewellery and shoes valued at over £100,000.

After scouting out Newcastle United's facility for 48 hours, they then acted at the residence of Sweden striker Mr Isak in Darras Hall on April 4, taking ten thousand pounds in money, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewelry and the player's £120,000 luxury car.

The group, who were portrayed by the prosecution as experienced touring burglars, wore gloves and face coverings, turned their phones off as they neared their objectives and attached 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 on April 13.

Alexander Isak's home
Thieves took cash and jewellery worth £80,000 and an car from footballer Alexander Isak's property

Court Proceedings and Sentencing

Valentino had denied the burglary plot but was convicted by jurors, while his three relations had all submitted guilty pleas to the identical accusation.

At the proceeds of crime hearing, prosecutor the prosecution said every one 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 lost.

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

The remaining members had no assets or property so were ordered to pay a token amount of £1 each, with seven days in incarceration the consequence if the money was not submitted.

Judge Robert Spragg said if they were discovered with assets in the coming years, "for example driving around in Italy in a fast car or owning a home", prosecutors could seek new proceedings to "recover the amount due".

Ernest Scott
Ernest Scott

Wildlife biologist and sloth conservation advocate with over a decade of field research in Central and South American rainforests.

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