Alexander Isak Robbers Instructed to Repay Just £1 Each from £1.2m Heists

Members of an Italy-based clan of burglars who took over £1.2 million worth of goods, including from ex- Newcastle United forward Alexander Isak, have been ordered to pay back just £1 each.

Siblings Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo, their female sibling Jela and her child Charlie journeyed to the north-east of England to raid multiple homes in spring 2024.

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

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

Details of the Break-ins

The court was told the group came by boat in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2024 and employed a campervan as their "headquarters", which they parked at Scotch Corner and Durham service rest stops while using another car to scout out targets and execute burglaries.

On 31 March they stole more than £1m of goods such as high-end fashion, handbags, jewelry and a CBE medal from a house on a street in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the residents were away.

The next evening, the crew broke into a house on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, and took designer handbags, jewellery and footwear valued at over one hundred thousand pounds.

Following surveillance of Newcastle United's facility for two days, they then acted at the residence of Sweden striker Alexander Isak in Darras Hall on April 4, stealing £10,000 in cash, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewelry and the striker's £120,000 luxury car.

The group, who were portrayed by the prosecution as professional itinerant burglars, wore hand coverings and masks, switched their phones on silent as they approached their targets and attached a license plate, which had been stolen from a garage in Chester-le-Street, on to their car with elastic bands.

They were arrested in the Birmingham on April 13.

Legal Hearings and Sentencing

Valentino had denied conspiracy to burglary but was found guilty by jurors, while his family members had all entered admissions to the identical accusation.

At the proceeds of crime hearing, lawyer the prosecution said every one of the defendants had profited from their offenses to the value 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 money that could be "recovered", namely £1,135.50 which had previously been confiscated by police, the court heard, with two weeks to be spent in prison if he failed to pay.

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

Judge Spragg said if they were discovered with assets in the future, "for example operating Italy in a sports car or possessing a home", prosecutors could seek further action to "recover the sum due".