🔗 Share this article

Individuals of an Italian family of burglars who took more than £1.2 million valued of items, including from former Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak, have been ordered to return only £1 per person.

Siblings Valentino and Giacomo, their female sibling Jela and her son Charlie journeyed to the northeastern of the UK to raid three houses in April 2024.

The group of four were imprisoned for from a decade or less in 2025.

At a criminal assets hearing at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela and the Nikolov brothers were instructed to pay back £1 each while Charlie Jovanovic must pay £1,135.

Particulars of the Burglaries

The judge previously heard the gang came by boat in the UK on 27 March 2024 and used a RV as their "base of operations", which they stationed at Scotch Corner and Durham service service stations while utilizing another car to scout out targets and carry out thefts.

On March 31 they stole more than one million pounds of items such as designer clothing, handbags, jewellery and a CBE medal from a house on a street in Jesmond, while the residents were away.

The following night, the crew entered a house on a private road in Whitburn, and stole luxury bags, valuables and footwear worth over £100,000.

After scouting out the football club's facility for 48 hours, they then struck at the residence of Swedish player Alexander Isak in Darras Hall on April 4, taking ten thousand pounds in money, £68,000 valued of jewelry and the player's £120,000 luxury car.

The gang, who were described by prosecutors as experienced touring burglars, wore gloves and face coverings, turned their mobile devices on silent as they neared their targets and attached a license plate, which had been stolen from a garage in a town, on to their vehicle with elastic bands.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham area on April 13.

Court Hearings and Sentencing

Valentino had denied conspiracy to burglary but was found guilty by jurors, while his three relations had all submitted admissions to the identical accusation.

At the criminal gains hearing, lawyer the prosecution said every one of the burglars had profited from their crimes to the value of over £1.2 million, which was determined by what the affected parties said they had lost.

But Charlie was the only one found to have any money that could be "realised", specifically £1,135.50 which had previously been confiscated by police, the judge heard, 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 seven days in prison the result if the money was not paid.

The judge Robert Spragg said if they were found with assets in the coming years, "such as operating in Italy in a sports car or possessing a home", prosecutors could seek new proceedings to "satisfy the sum due".