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Members of an Italian family of thieves who stole over £1.2 million worth of goods, among them from ex- NUFC striker Isak, have been ordered to return just £1 each.

Brothers Valentino and Giacomo, their sister Jela and her child Charlie Jovanovic travelled to the northeastern of the UK to raid three houses in spring 2024.

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

At a criminal assets hearing at the court, Jela Jovanovic and the brothers Nikolov were instructed to repay £1 per person while Charlie Jovanovic must pay over a thousand pounds.

Details of the Break-ins

The court was told the group arrived by ferry in the United Kingdom on 27 March 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 scout out properties and carry out thefts.

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

The next evening, the gang broke into a house on a private road in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and stole designer handbags, valuables and footwear worth over one hundred thousand pounds.

After scouting out the football club's facility for two days, they then struck at the residence of Sweden player Alexander Isak in Darras Hall on 4 April, stealing ten thousand pounds in cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewelry and the striker's £120,000 luxury car.

The gang, who were portrayed by prosecutors as experienced itinerant burglars, used hand coverings and masks, switched their phones on silent as they approached their targets and strapped a license plate, which had been stolen from a auto shop in a town, on to their vehicle with rubber straps.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham area on April 13.

Court Proceedings and Rulings

Valentino had denied the burglary plot but was found guilty by jurors, while his three relations had all entered guilty pleas to the same charge.

At the proceeds of crime hearing, lawyer the prosecution said each of the burglars had profited from their crimes to the amount of £1,266,285.93, which was based on what the affected parties said they had had stolen.

But Charlie Jovanovic was the only one deemed to have any funds that could be "realised", specifically over a thousand pounds which had previously been confiscated by authorities, the court heard, with 14 days to be spent in jail if he failed to pay.

The remaining members had no assets or assets so were directed to make a token amount of £1 each, with seven days in prison the result if the sum was not submitted.

Judge Robert Spragg said if they were discovered with property in the coming years, "such as driving around Italy in a fast car or possessing a home", the prosecution could seek new proceedings to "recover the amount due".