Alexander Isak Robbers Ordered to Repay Only £1 Per Person from £1.2 Million Thefts

Individuals of an Italian family of burglars who stole over £1.2m worth of items, including from ex- NUFC forward Alexander Isak, have been mandated to return only £1 per person.

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

The foursome were imprisoned for from a decade or less in May 2025.

At a proceeds of crime hearing at the court, Jela and the brothers Nikolov were ordered to repay £1 per person while Charlie Jovanovic must hand over over a thousand pounds.

Details of the Break-ins

The court previously heard the gang arrived by ferry in the UK on March 27, 2024 and used a RV as their "headquarters", which they stationed at Scotch Corner and Durham rest stops while using a separate vehicle to scout out properties and execute burglaries.

On 31 March they stole over one million pounds of items including high-end fashion, purses, jewelry and a CBE medal from a house on Clayton Road in Jesmond, while the residents were on holiday.

The next evening, the crew entered a house on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and took designer handbags, valuables and footwear valued at more than one hundred thousand pounds.

Following surveillance of Newcastle United's training ground for two days, they then acted at the residence of Swedish player Alexander Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on 4 April, taking ten thousand pounds in cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds valued of jewellery and the player's £120,000 Audi RS6.

The gang, who were portrayed by prosecutors as professional touring burglars, used gloves and masks, switched their mobile devices on silent as they approached their targets and attached a license plate, which had been stolen from a auto shop in a town, on to their car with rubber straps.

They were apprehended in the Birmingham area on 13 April.

Court Hearings and Sentencing

Valentino Nikolov had denied conspiracy to burglary but was convicted by the court, while his three relations had all entered admissions to the same charge.

At the criminal gains hearing, prosecutor the prosecution said each of the defendants had benefited from their crimes to the value of over £1.2 million, which was determined by what the affected parties said they had had stolen.

But Charlie was the only one deemed to have any money that could be "recovered", namely over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by authorities, the court heard, with 14 days to be spent in prison if he failed to pay.

The other three had no assets or property so were ordered to make a token amount of £1 each, with one week in incarceration the result if the sum was not submitted.

The judge Robert Spragg said if they were discovered with assets in the future, "for example driving around in Italy in a fast car or possessing a property", the prosecution could seek new proceedings to "recover the sum due".