The following night, a gang broke into a house on a walled cul-de-sac street in Whitburn, south of Tyneside, and stole handbags, jewelry, and designer shoes worth over 100,000 pounds.
Members of an Italian family of thieves were ordered to return stolen goods worth over 1.2 million pounds, including property of former Newcastle United attacker Alexander Isak, by paying one pound sterling (about 1.32 US dollars) each.
Brothers Valentino and Giacomo Nicolafo, their sister Gela Jovanovic, and her son Charlie Jovanovic traveled to northeast England in April 2024 to raid three houses. Later, in May 2025, the four were sentenced to prison terms ranging from six to ten years.
At a hearing about criminal proceeds at Newcastle Crown Court, the court ordered Gela Jovanovic and the Nicolafo brothers to pay one pound sterling each, while Charlie Jovanovic was ordered to pay 1,135 pounds (1,502 dollars).
The court had previously heard that the gang arrived in the UK on a ferry on March 27, 2024, and used a mobile caravan as a 'base of operations', while using another car to scout targets and carry out robberies.
On March 31, they stole goods worth over a million pounds, including clothing, handbags, jewelry, and a British Empire Medal from a house on Clayton Street in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the homeowners were on vacation.
The gang members, described by the prosecution as 'professional traveling thieves', wore gloves and masks, turned off their phones when approaching their targets, and attached stolen license plates to their car with rubber bands. They were arrested in the Birmingham area on April 13, according to the BBC. Valentino Nicolafo denied the conspiracy, but the jury convicted him, while his three relatives pleaded guilty to the same charge.
At a hearing, prosecutor Daniel Cordy said each thief benefited from their crimes to the tune of 1,266,285.93 pounds (1,445,616 dollars), based on what victims said about their losses. However, Charlie Jovanovic was the only one found to have any money that could be 'recovered', which was 1,135.50 pounds, which the police had already seized, the court heard, with a 14-day prison sentence if he fails to pay. The other three had no money or assets, so they were ordered to pay a symbolic one pound each, with a seven-day prison sentence for non-payment.
Judge Robert Spragg said that if assets are found in their possession in the future, 'like fast cars around Italy or owning a property', prosecutors can seek new proceedings 'to recover the amount due'.
After exploring the Newcastle United training ground for two days, they attacked the home of Swedish attacker Isak at Darras Hall on April 4, stealing 10,000 pounds in cash (13,237 dollars), jewelry worth 68,000 pounds (113,843 dollars), and his Audi RS6, worth 120,000 pounds (158,856 dollars).
