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Sky News
20-05-2025
- Sky News
Alexander Isak: Newcastle United star describes impact of 'attack' on his home as family of burglars jailed
A family of burglars who raided the home of Premier League footballer Alexander Isak have been jailed. Newcastle Crown Court heard they stole the Newcastle United striker's car, jewellery worth £68,000 and up to £10,000 in cash on 4 April 2024. They were also convicted of burgling two other properties in the Tyneside area, stealing designer goods and other valuables worth more than £1.1m. Valentino Nikolov, 32, and his brother Giacomo Nikolov, 28, along with Jela Jovanovic, 43, and her son Charlie Jovanovic, 23, were jailed for between six and 10 years. The court heard the gang had travelled from Italy to the UK last year to commit their burglaries. The three men carried out the raids, wearing gloves and masks, while Jela Jovanovic waited outside in a getaway car. Prosecutor Dan Cordey said mobile phone evidence showed the gang had been carrying out "surveillance" at the Newcastle United training ground in the days leading up to the break-in "to establish movements to and from" the facility. Isak was not at his home in Darras Hall, Northumberland, when the gang broke in. In a victim impact statement read in court, Mr Isak said: "None of the property stolen from my home was ever recovered. The attack on my home has left me with a sense of unease and I fear it could reoccur." Isak, a Sweden international, moved to Newcastle United from Real Sociedad for a reported fee of £63m in 2022, helping the club win the League Cup in March - their first domestic trophy in 70 years. 0:46 The court heard the gang broke into Isak's home through a glass door and carried out an "untidy search" of the property, taking cash, jewellery and an Audi RS6 estate car, which a member of the public later found abandoned. Isak told detectives he kept cash in bags upstairs, made up of notes of varying denominations as well as coins, and the amount taken was between £5,000 and £10,000. He said bespoke men's jewellery from Frost of London worth about £68,000 - made up of bracelets, necklaces and rings - was taken. A statement from Glenn Patterson, a player liaison officer at Newcastle United, said a spate of burglaries and attempted burglaries had forced the club to conduct an extensive review of player safety. They invested in monitored alarm systems and recruited private security patrols "to allay players' fears for their families and homes". Newcastle Crown Court also heard businesswoman Helen McCardle's four-storey home in Jesmond, Newcastle, was one of the other properties burgled by the gang while she was on holiday. The thieves stole designer items including Chanel, Yves Saint Laurent and Louis Vuitton handbags, along with her CBE. Valentino Nikolov was jailed for 10 years, Giacomo Nikolov for eight years, Jela Jovanovic for seven years and two months, and Charlie Jovanovic for six years and nine months. Judge Robert Spragg said the sentences mean the defendants meet the Home Office criteria for automatic deportation. Giacomo Nikolov, Jela Jovanovic and Charlie Jovanovic pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary. Valentino Nikolov was found guilty of the same offence after a trial in March.
ITV News
20-05-2025
- ITV News
Gang jailed for burglary at home of Newcastle United's Alexander Isak
A criminal gang, who burgled the home of Newcastle United's star striker Alexander Isak, along with two other properties in the north east, have been jailed. Judge Robert Spragg said the burglaries, which netted the gang £1.3m, were planned, sophisticated and high value items were targeted, causing economic and sentimental loss. Valentino Nikolov, 32, who has previous convictions for theft in Italy and burglary in Switzerland, has been jailed for ten years. His brother Giacomo Nikolov, 28, who also has convictions for theft, was sentenced to eight years. Their sister and getaway driver during the raids Jela Jovanovic, 43, got seven years and two months. Meanwhile her son Charlie Jovanovic, 23, who has a previous conviction for burglary in Switzerland, was jailed for six years and nine months. The judge told the raiders: "You all travelled from Italy specifically to carry out these burglaries as part of an organised criminal family group. "You carefully researched and targeted your victims." Isak wasn't in the property at the time of the raid, but when he returned home at 10pm on 4 April last year, he found his outside bins in his TV room. Newcastle Crown Court heard that footage obtained from his "doggy cam" captured the raiders, who had travelled from Italy to raid luxury homes in the UK, lurking around his upmarket property in the Darras Hall area of Northumberland. The 25-year-old's Audi sports car was also taken in the raid but later recovered, with some damage to the boot. The court heard an embedded sim card in a Citroen C3 car used by the raiders showed they had hung around Newcastle United training ground to carry out surveillance on the footballer and establish his movements, or find out where he or other players lived. A mobile phone seized when the raiders were arrested contained pictures of Isak playing football. Valentino Nikolov denied conspiracy to commit burglary, which the other three had admitted, and was convicted by a jury after a trial. In a victim impact statement, Isak said he has lived in the North East since August 2022 and added: "I have not experienced any problems with either criminal or other behaviour which negatively impacted on my well being. "Things changed however on April 4 2024 when, following an evening at a colleague's house I returned to my home address to find I had been burgled and my car stolen from the drive. "It appeared that a significant level of force had been used to attack the property and a large safe had been thrown over an upstairs balcony. "An internal wall had been destroyed in order to remove the safe. My car had been used as a battering ram to force through the gates to my house. "None of the property stolen from my home was ever recovered. "The attack on my home has left me with a sense of unease and I fear it could re-occur now the thieves know the layout and entry points to my home. "There has, from what I have been told, been a level of sophistication in planning and execution of the attack on my home, which I also find unnerving. "I cannot deny I feel a sense of unease when I live and return to my home." Meanwhile, the court heard the raid at Alexander Isak's mansion had an effect on his club, as well as him personally. Glen Patterson, Newcastle United's player liaison officer, made an impact statement which was read out during the hearing. Mr Patterson said he has to convince potential recruits at the club that Newcastle is a safe and secure place for them and their families. He added there has now been an extensive review on player safety and there has been significant investment in security and the incidents have caused rumours to spread and players to moderate their social media postings. The court heard the gang arrived in the country via a ferry to Dover from Calais on 27 March, before a stop off in London, from where they made their way north using a Ford motorhome and Citroen C3, which were captured on CCTV. Prosecutor Daniel Cordey said: "It is the prosecution case that they all travelled to the North East together as part of that conspiracy or agreement to commit high value targeted burglaries of residential properties." Mr Cordey said the gang were "forensically aware", took time to cover their movements by swapping sim cards out of their regular phones and wore gloves and masks during the break-ins. Isak's mansion was the last of the three raids and Mr Cordey told the court: "That property was left unoccupied between 4pm and 10pm on the 4th of April 2024. "The burglary was discovered when the Mr Isak returned just after 10pm. He found his bins had been moved and entry had been gained by smashing a glass door leading from the back of the property to the TV room. "Inside an untidy search had taken place and cash to the value of between £5,000 and £10,000 had been stolen together with jewellery valued at about £68,000. "A Dudley safe left by the previous occupant was also stolen from the property. "The keys to Mr Isak's motor vehicle were also taken. It was an Audi, it was then stolen but later found abandoned after a report from a member of the public who called the police. "Inside the property was CCTV. That CCTV showed three men in the living room "One of those males, the prosecution says, can be identified as Giacomo Nikolov. He's wearing distinctive tracksuit bottoms with a PSG football club logo on the right leg." A head torch was later found, believed to have been worn by one of the four during the raid. Jurors were told that the first of the burglaries took place at Clayton House in Jesmond, Newcastle, where homeowners Michael and Helen McCardle had left to go on holiday on 30 March 2024. A few days later a maintenance manager discovered the home had been broken into via the first floor. Further searches revealed the disappearance of gold coins, high value watches, and designer clothes and handbags, totaling over £1 million. Some of the stolen property was recovered but a large amount of property, including irreplaceable items of jewellery, has never been found. A statement read on behalf of Mrs McCardle said a CBE medal, which she was awarded by the late Queen Elizabeth, was also stolen. A personal treasure which she planned to pass on as a family heirloom. "I constantly think it could happen again. The thieves have not only stolen our belongings but our privacy and security." The group then raided the house of a young mother in the gated cul-de-sac of Woodlands Grove in Whitburn, South Tyneside, around 15 miles from Newcastle. The homeowner returned to the address in the afternoon of 3 April to find her patio doors open and over £100k of goods including designer clothing, handbags, jewellery and shoes were missing. An untidy search had been made inside the property and she described her wardrobe as "trashed" with doors left open and items thrown onto the floor. The woman described the incident as traumatic - and said her children are scared to sleep in their own beds and sentimental gifts from her late father can never be replaced. All four of the defendants, who face deportation after the jail terms, expressed remorse for the impact of their offences and say they want to return to their homeland.
BBC News
20-05-2025
- BBC News
Burglar family jailed for raid on NUFC's Alexander Isak's home
A family of Italian burglars who stole more than £1.2m worth of luxury goods from homes including that of Newcastle United striker Alexander Isak have been Valentino and Giacomo Nikolov, their sister Jela Jovanoic and her son Charlie Jovanovic travelled to the region to raid three houses in April 2024, Newcastle Crown Court Daniel Cordey said the foursome, two of whom had been banned from Switzerland for thieving, were a professional gang of touring 32, who was found guilty of conspiracy to commit burglary, was jailed for 10 years while the others, who admitted their involvement, were imprisoned for between six and eight years each. Mr Isak said the "attack" on his home had left him with a sense of gang arrived in the UK on a ferry from Calais in the early hours of 27 March, the court heard, with the family travelling in a black Citroen C3 and a Ford movements over the following days were tracked by SIM cards in their phones and the C3, as well as automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) cameras, Mr Cordey said. They parked their "base of operations" campervan at Scotch Corner and Durham service stations while they used the C3 to scout out their targets and carry out the burglaries, the court 43, who was born in Zagreb, Croatia, and had previous convictions for fraud and theft in Belgium from 2011, was the gang's driver while her son and brothers ransacked the homes, Mr Cordey first targeted a home on Clayton Road in Jesmond, Newcastle, while the owners were on holiday, the court about 20:45 BST on 31 March, the men broke in through a first-floor balcony door and stole a safe, high value watches, designer clothing, handbags, a CBE medal and gold coins, Mr Cordey said. The total value of the stolen goods exceeded £1m, the prosecutor said, with the vast majority of it following night, the gang broke into a home on a gated cul-de-sac in Whitburn, South Tyneside, and stole designer handbags, jewellery and shoes worth more than £100,000, the court then spent two days near Newcastle United's training ground, monitoring the movements of staff and players, before targeting Mr Isak's home in Ponteland, the court heard. On the evening of 4 April, the burglars smashed their way into the house on Middle Drive in Darrass Hall while the Swedish striker was visiting a teammate, the court took an empty safe, which had been left by a previous owner, up to £10,000 in cash and "bespoke" jewellery worth £68,000, Mr Cordey also stole the footballer's car keys so they could use his Audi RS6 as a battering ram to force open his gates, with the vehicle, worth £120,000, later found abandoned nearby, the court Cordey said the gang wore gloves and masks, switched their phones off as they neared their targets and strapped a number plate, which had been stolen from a garage in Chester-le-Street, on to their car with elastic escaped with their loot to the Walsall and Birmingham area, where their car was stopped and they were arrested on 13 April, the court 28, who was born in Napoli and had convictions for theft in Italy, was wearing a Rolex watch stolen from the home in Jesmond, the court who was born in Milan and had links to an address in Birmingham, and his 22-year-old nephew Charlie, born in Brescia, had both been jailed in Switzerland for carrying out a burglary on Christmas Eve 2022, the court heard, with the pair then expelled from the country for five and seven years respectively. 'Club increased security' In a statement read to the court, Mr Isak said the "attack" on his home had left him with a "sense of unease" every time he left and returned to the of the goods taken from his home were recovered, the court heard, apart from the safe which was found heavily damaged in the Birmingham United's player liaison officer Glenn Patterson said he had always been "proud" to tell new and prospective recruits that the area was safe but the burglary of Mr Isak's home was one of several against players in recent said the club had to invest heavily in security systems and patrols, with players fearing for the safety of their homes and families during matches and being instructed to "moderate" what they posted on social media."I'm not trying to be alarmist or over-reactive but these crimes have had an impact on the club which cannot be overstated," Mr Patterson said, adding it affected player recruitment and retention. 'Stolen our security' The victim of the Jesmond burglary said she and her husband had worked "extremely hard" for everything they owned and they had been devastated by the said much of the jewellery had been of great sentimental value and was irreplaceable, while her CBE medal had no worth to the burglars but was intended by her to become a family heirloom."The thieves have not only stolen our belongings but, just as importantly, they have stolen our privacy and security," she woman whose Whitburn home was targeted said she and her young children had lived in fear ever since."The peace, safety and security taken from us is unacceptable, let alone the stress and heartbreak caused." All four burglars apologised for the impact of their actions and said they wanted to be deported back to Italy to be with their families, the court Robert Spragg said it was a highly sophisticated and planned "family affair" by a professional group of was jailed for eight years, Jela for seven years and two months and Charlie for six years and nine said deportation was automatic for foreign nationals jailed for more than a year. Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram. Send your story ideas here.
Yahoo
18-03-2025
- Yahoo
Burglar guilty of break-in at Premier League star Isak's home
A thief who joined three family members in breaking into the home of Premier League star Alexander Isak and stealing his sports car, jewellery worth £68,000 and up to £10,000 in cash has been convicted of conspiracy to commit burglary. The Newcastle United and Sweden striker, who helped his side win the Carabao Cup at the weekend, was not in his house when what the prosecution described as a 'professional group of travelling burglars' broke in through a glass door last April. The thieves had already stolen jewellery and clothes worth more than £1 million and the CBE medal belonging to Tyneside businesswoman Helen McArdle, and designer goods worth £100,000 from a woman in Whitburn, Sunderland, in the previous days. Three members of the same family, living in Italy, admitted conspiracy to commit burglary. A fourth family member, Valentino Nikolov, 32, denied the charge but was convicted on Tuesday following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court. Judge Robert Spragg said he will sentence the group later. Dan Cordey, prosecuting, told jurors how Isak left his home in Darras Hall, Northumberland, between 4pm and 10pm on April 4, and he discovered the break-in when he returned and saw his bins had been moved. The gang broke into his TV room and 'inside an untidy search took place', Mr Cordey said. Isak told detectives that he kept cash in bags upstairs, made up of notes of varying denominations as well as coins, and the amount taken was between £5,000 and £10,000. He said bespoke men's jewellery from Frost of London worth about £68,000 – made up of bracelets, necklaces and rings – was taken, along with his Audi RS6 estate car. Jurors heard a member of the public later found the car abandoned and called the police. The gang also took a safe, which had been left by the home's previous tenant, although it did not contain anything valuable, Mr Cordey said. Isak told police he had never used the safe and he had not been able to open it. CCTV images of the break-in were recorded on what Mr Cordey described as a 'doggy cam'. The prosecution said: 'This was a professional group of travelling burglars. 'It contained one female and three men – all related. 'Two of those men and one female have admitted their part in pleading guilty.' Mr Cordey said the fourth man was the defendant Valentino Nikolov. The gang arrived in the UK via a ferry from Calais to Dover in a Citroen C3 and a Ford motorhome last March. They headed to London then drove to the North East a few days later, the court has heard. The gang used the Citroen to travel to break-ins and the motorhome was a base where they slept. Nikolov, of Tew Park Road, Birmingham, represented himself and used an Italian interpreter. His brother Giacomo Nikolov, 28, his sister Jela Jovanovic, 43, and her son Charlie Jovanovic, 23, who all reside in Italy, will be sentenced along with him for conspiracy to commit burglary. Safet Ramic, who is the 58-year-old father of Valentino Nikolov's former partner, and who is from Winson Street, Birmingham, was cleared of a single charge of handling stolen goods. Outside court, Detective Constable Mark Armstrong, of the North East Regional Organised Crime Unit (NEROCU), said: 'This is a fantastic result, which has been the outcome of an incredibly complex and comprehensive police investigation by several police partners. 'Burglaries are an insidious crime and causes a great amount of emotional and financial trauma to victims.' Christopher Atkinson, head of CPS North East's Complex Casework Unit, said: 'The Crown Prosecution Service has worked closely with the North East Regional Organised Crime Unit throughout this complex investigation. 'It is testament to the quality of that investigation, especially the effective partnership work between multiple police forces, that we have been provided with such a significant amount of evidence. 'This has enabled us to build a particularly robust prosecution case, which has been instrumental in securing convictions against those responsible for these offences.'
The Independent
18-03-2025
- The Independent
Burglar guilty of break-in at Premier League star Isak's home
A thief who joined three family members in breaking into the home of Premier League star Alexander Isak and stealing his sports car, jewellery worth £68,000 and up to £10,000 in cash has been convicted of conspiracy to commit burglary. The Newcastle United and Sweden striker, who helped his side win the Carabao Cup at the weekend, was not in his house when what the prosecution described as a 'professional group of travelling burglars' broke in through a glass door last April. The thieves had already stolen jewellery and clothes worth more than £1 million and the CBE medal belonging to Tyneside businesswoman Helen McArdle, and designer goods worth £100,000 from a woman in Whitburn, Sunderland, in the previous days. Three members of the same family, living in Italy, admitted conspiracy to commit burglary. A fourth family member, Valentino Nikolov, 32, denied the charge but was convicted on Tuesday following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court. Judge Robert Spragg said he will sentence the group later. Dan Cordey, prosecuting, told jurors how Isak left his home in Darras Hall, Northumberland, between 4pm and 10pm on April 4, and he discovered the break-in when he returned and saw his bins had been moved. The gang broke into his TV room and 'inside an untidy search took place', Mr Cordey said. Isak told detectives that he kept cash in bags upstairs, made up of notes of varying denominations as well as coins, and the amount taken was between £5,000 and £10,000. He said bespoke men's jewellery from Frost of London worth about £68,000 – made up of bracelets, necklaces and rings – was taken, along with his Audi RS6 estate car. Jurors heard a member of the public later found the car abandoned and called the police. The gang also took a safe, which had been left by the home's previous tenant, although it did not contain anything valuable, Mr Cordey said. Isak told police he had never used the safe and he had not been able to open it. CCTV images of the break-in were recorded on what Mr Cordey described as a 'doggy cam'. The prosecution said: 'This was a professional group of travelling burglars. 'It contained one female and three men – all related. ' Two of those men and one female have admitted their part in pleading guilty.' Mr Cordey said the fourth man was the defendant Valentino Nikolov. The gang arrived in the UK via a ferry from Calais to Dover in a Citroen C3 and a Ford motorhome last March. They headed to London then drove to the North East a few days later, the court has heard. The gang used the Citroen to travel to break-ins and the motorhome was a base where they slept. Nikolov, of Tew Park Road, Birmingham, represented himself and used an Italian interpreter. His brother Giacomo Nikolov, 28, his sister Jela Jovanovic, 43, and her son Charlie Jovanovic, 23, who all reside in Italy, will be sentenced along with him for conspiracy to commit burglary. Safet Ramic, who is the 58-year-old father of Valentino Nikolov's former partner, and who is from Winson Street, Birmingham, was cleared of a single charge of handling stolen goods. Outside court, Detective Constable Mark Armstrong, of the North East Regional Organised Crime Unit (NEROCU), said: 'This is a fantastic result, which has been the outcome of an incredibly complex and comprehensive police investigation by several police partners. 'Burglaries are an insidious crime and causes a great amount of emotional and financial trauma to victims.' Christopher Atkinson, head of CPS North East's Complex Casework Unit, said: 'The Crown Prosecution Service has worked closely with the North East Regional Organised Crime Unit throughout this complex investigation. 'It is testament to the quality of that investigation, especially the effective partnership work between multiple police forces, that we have been provided with such a significant amount of evidence. 'This has enabled us to build a particularly robust prosecution case, which has been instrumental in securing convictions against those responsible for these offences.'
