Isak Robbers Ordered to Repay Just £1 Each from £1.2 Million Heists
Individuals of an Italian clan of thieves who stole more than £1.2 million valued of items, among them from former NUFC striker Isak, have been ordered to pay back just £1 per person.
Siblings Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo Nikolov, their sister Jela Jovanovic and her child Charlie journeyed to the northeastern of England to raid multiple homes in spring 2024.
The foursome were jailed for from six and 10 years in 2025.
At a criminal assets hearing at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela Jovanovic and the Nikolov brothers were instructed to repay £1 each while Charlie Jovanovic must hand over over a thousand pounds.
Particulars of the Break-ins
The court was told the gang came by boat in the UK on 27 March 2024 and used a campervan as their "headquarters", which they stationed at a service area and Durham service rest stops while using a separate vehicle to search for properties and execute thefts.
On 31 March they stole more than £1m of items such as high-end fashion, handbags, jewellery and a CBE medal from a residence on Clayton Road in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the residents were away.
The following night, the gang broke into a house on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, and took designer handbags, valuables and footwear worth over £100,000.
After scouting out the football club's training ground for two days, they then acted at the residence of Swedish player Mr Isak in Darras Hall on 4 April, taking ten thousand pounds in money, sixty-eight thousand pounds valued of jewelry and the striker's £120,000 Audi RS6.
The gang, who were described by the prosecution as professional touring burglars, wore gloves and masks, switched their phones on silent as they neared their targets and attached a number plate, which had been taken from a garage in Chester-le-Street, on to their vehicle with rubber straps.
They were apprehended in the Birmingham on April 13.
Legal Hearings and Rulings
Valentino had pleaded not guilty to the burglary plot but was found guilty by the court, while his three relations had all submitted guilty pleas to the same charge.
At the criminal gains session, prosecutor 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 victims said they had had stolen.
But Charlie was the sole individual found to have any funds that could be "recovered", specifically over a thousand pounds which had already been seized by police, the judge heard, with two weeks to be spent in prison if he defaulted.
The remaining members had no money or assets so were ordered to pay a token amount of £1 per person, with seven days in incarceration the consequence if the sum was not paid.
Judge Spragg said if they were discovered with assets in the future, "such as operating Italy in a sports car or owning a home", prosecutors could seek further action to "satisfy the sum due".