🔗 Share this article

Members of an Italy-based family of burglars who took over £1.2 million valued of items, among them from ex- Newcastle United forward Isak, have been ordered to return just £1 per person.

Brothers Valentino and Giacomo, their sister Jela Jovanovic and her child Charlie travelled to the northeastern of the UK to raid multiple homes in April 2024.

The group of four were jailed for between a decade or less in 2025.

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

Details of the Break-ins

The judge previously heard the group arrived by boat in the UK on 27 March 2024 and employed a RV as their "headquarters", which they parked at a service area and Durham service stations while utilizing a separate vehicle to search for targets and execute burglaries.

On 31 March they stole more than one million pounds of goods such as high-end fashion, handbags, jewelry and a honor from a residence on Clayton Road in Jesmond, while the residents were on holiday.

The next evening, the crew broke into a home on a private road in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and stole designer handbags, jewellery and footwear worth more than one hundred thousand pounds.

Following surveillance of the football club's training ground for two days, they then acted at the home of Sweden player Mr Isak in Darras Hall on 4 April, taking £10,000 in cash, £68,000 valued of jewellery and the player's £120,000 luxury car.

The group, who were described by the prosecution as professional itinerant burglars, used gloves and masks, turned their mobile devices on silent as they approached their targets and strapped a license plate, which had been stolen from a garage in Chester-le-Street, on to their car with rubber straps.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham on 13 April.

Legal Hearings and Sentencing

Valentino Nikolov had denied conspiracy to burglary but was convicted by jurors, while his family members had all entered admissions to the identical accusation.

At the criminal gains hearing, prosecutor Daniel Cordey said every one of the burglars had profited from their crimes to the value of over £1.2 million, which was based on what the victims said they had lost.

But Charlie Jovanovic was the only one found to have any funds that could be "recovered", specifically £1,135.50 which had previously been confiscated by authorities, the judge was informed, with 14 days to be served in prison if he defaulted.

The remaining members had no assets or property so were ordered to make a nominal fee of £1 each, with one week in incarceration the result if the money was not paid.

The judge Spragg said if they were found with assets in the coming years, "such as operating Italy in a fast car or owning a property", prosecutors could initiate new proceedings to "recover the sum outstanding".