Two members of an Italian organised crime gang, already jailed for burgling former Newcastle striker Alexander Isak's home, have been given additional prison sentences for targeting three other footballers. Valentino Nikolov and Charlie Jovanovic appeared again at Newcastle Crown Court for burglaries at the homes of Manchester United's Matheus Cunha, former Aston Villa winger Leon Bailey, and ex-Birmingham goalkeeper Neil Etheridge.
Raids across the West Midlands
The court heard the offences were committed in the West Midlands around Christmas and New Year, after the gang scoped out victims' movements by visiting training grounds, other locations they frequented, and monitoring their social media. During a break-in at Cunha's home, then a Wolves player, they stole valuables worth up to £500,000.
Anne Richardson, prosecuting, said: "They targeted wealthy professional footballers in the Birmingham and Wolverhampton areas, each professionally planned by this organised crime group who travelled from Italy with this specific purpose."
How the gang operated
She added: "They travelled to various football training grounds, including Aston Villa and Birmingham and other clubs. Victims were identified by the defendants using social media research and reconnaissance at football training grounds and places visited by the victims."
"This information was used to carry out burglaries while they were playing away matches for their clubs. Images of property stolen and screenshots at training grounds were found on the phone of Mr Nikolov when he was arrested. Watches belonging to Mr Cunha and his wife had been held out to show them."
Details of the offences
Cunha's home was broken into on December 27 while he was away playing for Wolves. His wife returned home to see a dog running loose and, hearing a noise upstairs, fled and called police. During a messy search, the raiders stole designer clothing, handbags, and jewellery worth between £350,000 and £500,000.
Etheridge's home was broken into on Boxing Day 2023 while he was playing for Birmingham. His wife, at a friend's house, was alerted by a baby monitor showing a figure in a bedroom and called 999. Footage showed two men, wearing coats, hoods, masks, and gloves, with head torches and rucksacks, climbing over a wall into the garden and through a bathroom window. They carried out an "untidy search" upstairs and sprayed a chemical substance on the dogs, which affected people's breathing when they later returned.
Among the £15,000 of items stolen was a Rolex watch, handbags, jewellery, a wedding bank, and passports. Etheridge had reported a suspicious vehicle to police a few days before the break-in, after spotting it when leaving a restaurant. It was one of the leased vehicles the gang had travelled to the UK in.
An attempt was made to burgle Bailey's home on New Year's Eve 2023 while he and his partner were visiting relatives. Bailey was alerted by a mobile phone notification from his security system that two men, wearing dark clothes and gloves with faces obscured, had got over a barbed wire fence and were approaching the back door. The security system informed the burglars police had been contacted and were on their way, and they fled empty-handed. The court heard around a quarter of the property stolen in the raids was recovered.
Sentencing and impact
Claire Anderson, for Jovanovic, said he has been doing well in prison and added: "He expresses his apologies to the victims, through me. The work he has done in prison has been eye-opening to him about the impact it has on victims."
Nikolov's barrister said he "feels very sorry for the victims" and said he has found his time in prison very hard and "says he will never forget this lesson and will remember them for the rest of his life".
Nikolov, 34, and Jovanovic, 24, both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle. Nikolov was jailed for four years four months, to run consecutively to the 10 years he received last May for the North East offences. Jovanovic received two years four months, consecutive to the six years nine months he got last year. They face automatic deportation after serving their sentences, but that will be dealt with by the Home Office.
Judge Robert Spragg said: "These are serious organised criminals who came from abroad and left soon after committing the offences with a considerable amount of stolen property. They didn't count on the extremely thorough and professional operation by the police."
"The message sent by the police is if you travel to this country to commit offences of this type will be caught and put before the courts."
