Alexander Isak Burglars Instructed to Pay Just £1 Per Person from £1.2m Heists

Members of an Italian clan of burglars who took more than £1.2 million worth of goods, including from former NUFC striker Alexander Isak, have been ordered to return only £1 each.

Brothers Valentino Nikolov and Giacomo Nikolov, their sister Jela and her child Charlie travelled to the northeastern of England to raid three houses in April 2024.

The foursome were imprisoned for from six and 10 years in 2025.

At a criminal assets proceeding at Newcastle Crown Court, Jela and the brothers Nikolov were instructed to repay £1 each while Charlie must hand over over a thousand pounds.

Details of the Break-ins

The court was told the gang came by boat in the United Kingdom on March 27, 2024 and employed a RV as their "headquarters", which they parked at a service area and Durham service service stations while using a separate vehicle to search for properties and carry out burglaries.

On 31 March they took over £1m of items such as designer clothing, handbags, jewellery and a CBE medal from a residence on Clayton Road in Jesmond, while the residents were on holiday.

The next evening, the gang entered a home on a private road in Whitburn, and took luxury bags, valuables and footwear valued at more than one hundred thousand pounds.

After scouting out the football club's facility for 48 hours, they then acted at the home of Swedish striker Alexander Isak in Darras Hall, Ponteland on April 4, taking ten thousand pounds in money, sixty-eight thousand pounds worth of jewellery and the player's one hundred twenty thousand pound Audi RS6.

The group, who were portrayed by prosecutors as professional itinerant burglars, wore gloves and face coverings, turned their phones off as they approached their targets and attached a number plate, which had been stolen from a auto shop in a town, on to their car with elastic bands.

They were arrested in the Birmingham area on April 13.

Court Hearings and Rulings

Valentino Nikolov had denied the burglary plot but was convicted by jurors, while his three relations had all submitted admissions to the same charge.

At the criminal gains hearing, prosecutor Daniel Cordey said every one of the burglars had profited from their offenses to the amount of over £1.2 million, which was based on what the affected parties said they had lost.

But Charlie was the sole individual found to have any money that could be "realised", specifically £1,135.50 which had already been seized by police, the judge was informed, with 14 days to be spent in prison if he defaulted.

The other three had no assets or property so were ordered to pay a nominal fee of £1 per person, with one week in incarceration the result if the money was not submitted.

Judge Robert Spragg said if they were found with assets in the coming years, "such as driving around in Italy in a sports car or owning a home", prosecutors could seek further action to "satisfy the sum due".