Isak Burglars Instructed to Repay Only £1 Per Person from £1.2m Thefts
Members of an Italian clan of thieves who stole over £1.2 million worth of goods, among them from former NUFC striker Isak, have been ordered to return just £1 each.
Brothers Valentino and Giacomo, their female sibling Jela Jovanovic and her son Charlie journeyed to the north-east of England to burgle multiple homes in spring 2024.
The foursome were imprisoned for between a decade or less in 2025.
At a criminal assets hearing at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela Jovanovic and the brothers Nikolov were ordered to pay back £1 per person while Charlie must hand over £1,135.
Particulars of the Break-ins
The judge was told the gang arrived by boat in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2024 and employed a campervan as their "base of operations", which they stationed at a service area and Durham service service stations while using another car to search for targets and carry out thefts.
On March 31 they stole more than £1m of items including high-end fashion, handbags, jewellery and a honor from a residence on Clayton Road in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the residents were on holiday.
The next evening, the crew broke into a home on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, and stole luxury bags, jewellery and shoes worth more than £100,000.
After scouting out Newcastle United's training ground for two days, they then struck at the home of Swedish player Mr Isak in Darras Hall on April 4, stealing ten thousand pounds in cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewellery and the player's one hundred twenty thousand pound luxury car.
The group, who were described by the prosecution as experienced itinerant thieves, wore hand coverings and face coverings, turned their mobile devices on silent as they neared their targets and attached a number plate, which had been taken from a auto shop in a town, on to their vehicle with rubber straps.
They were apprehended in the Birmingham area on 13 April.
Court Hearings and Rulings
Valentino Nikolov had denied conspiracy to burglary but was found guilty by the court, while his three relations had all entered guilty pleas to the same charge.
At the criminal gains session, prosecutor Daniel Cordey said every one of the defendants had benefited from their offenses to the amount of £1,266,285.93, which was determined by what the victims said they had had stolen.
But Charlie Jovanovic was the only one deemed to have any funds that could be "realised", namely over a thousand pounds which had previously been confiscated by authorities, the court heard, with two weeks to be served in jail if he failed to pay.
The remaining members had no money or property so were ordered to pay a token amount of £1 per person, with seven days in prison the consequence if the money was not submitted.
Judge Robert Spragg said if they were discovered with property in the coming years, "for example operating in Italy in a sports car or owning a home", the prosecution could initiate further action to "satisfy the amount outstanding".