Isak Robbers Instructed to Repay Only £1 Each from £1.2m Thefts
Members of an Italy-based clan of thieves who took over £1.2m valued of goods, including from ex- NUFC forward Alexander Isak, have been mandated to pay back only £1 each.
Siblings Valentino and Giacomo Nikolov, their female sibling Jela Jovanovic and her child Charlie Jovanovic travelled to the north-east of England to raid three houses in April 2024.
The group of four were imprisoned for from six and 10 years in 2025.
At a criminal assets hearing at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela Jovanovic and the Nikolov brothers were ordered to pay back £1 each while Charlie must pay £1,135.
Particulars of the Break-ins
The judge was told the group arrived by boat in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2024 and used a campervan as their "headquarters", which they parked at Scotch Corner and Durham rest stops while utilizing a separate vehicle to search for properties and execute burglaries.
On 31 March they took over one million pounds of items such as designer clothing, purses, jewelry and a CBE medal from a house on Clayton Road in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the residents were on holiday.
The following night, the crew entered a home on a private road in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and took designer handbags, valuables and shoes valued at more than £100,000.
Following surveillance of Newcastle United's training ground for 48 hours, they then acted at the residence of Swedish striker Mr Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on April 4, taking ten thousand pounds in cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewelry and the player's £120,000 Audi RS6.
The gang, who were portrayed by prosecutors as experienced touring thieves, used hand coverings and masks, switched their mobile devices on silent as they neared their targets and strapped a number plate, which had been stolen from a auto shop in a town, on to their vehicle with elastic bands.
They were apprehended in the Birmingham area on 13 April.
Legal Hearings and Sentencing
Valentino Nikolov had denied the burglary plot but was convicted by the court, while his family members had all submitted admissions to the same charge.
At the proceeds of crime hearing, prosecutor Daniel Cordey said each of the burglars had benefited from their offenses to the amount of over £1.2 million, which was determined by what the affected parties said they had had stolen.
But Charlie was the only one found to have any money that could be "realised", specifically over a thousand pounds which had previously been confiscated by police, the court was informed, with two weeks to be spent in prison if he defaulted.
The remaining members had no assets or property so were directed to make a token amount of £1 each, with seven days in incarceration the result if the money was not paid.
The judge Robert Spragg said if they were discovered with property in the coming years, "for example driving around in Italy in a fast car or possessing a property", prosecutors could seek new proceedings to "recover the amount due".
