A Georgia sheriff says investigators are ramping up efforts to trace down a custom-built 2025 Range Rover meant for NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal after the luxurious SUV vanished in transit earlier this month.
According to Lumpkin County Sheriff Stacy Jarrard, the automobile, valued at round $180,000, was final seen in Dahlonega, Georgia, roughly 70 miles northeast of Atlanta.
“It was in transit from California to here, to have some fabrication done to it here in Dahlonega,” Jarrard advised The Athletic. “From this location, it had to go to another drop point in which, in transit, it came missing.”
Jarrard confirmed that his division has now obtained search warrants tied to the case. “We have search warrants for information to try to identify people of interest,” he mentioned, including that investigators are pursuing a number of leads in hopes of each recovering the SUV and making an arrest.
California-based Effortless Motors was customizing the Range Rover to accommodate O’Neal’s 7-foot-1 body and different private specs. The automobile was purported to be shipped to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for the basketball star to make use of whereas attending LSU’s dwelling soccer sport in opposition to Texas A&M—but it surely by no means arrived.
Ahmad Abdelrahman, a spokesperson for Effortless Motors, advised CBS Atlanta that the corporate organized transportation via FirstLine Trucking LLC, which later reported that its pc system had been hacked across the similar time the automotive went lacking.
“Effortless Motors was the authorized selling dealership and arranged transport through a third-party company that appeared fully verified,” Abdelrahman mentioned. “Upon the vehicle’s scheduled delivery, it was discovered that the company’s internal systems had been compromised and hijacked, resulting in the car being unlawfully taken during transit.”
The sheriff’s workplace believes the automobile was relocated to the metro Atlanta space after being stolen. The dealership has since supplied a $10,000 reward for any info resulting in its restoration.
Jarrard mentioned O’Neal has been immediately concerned with authorities for the reason that theft was reported. “One hundred percent, he cooperated,” Jarrard famous. “Shaquille O’Neal spoke with an investigator with the case, filed a report of it missing, and has shown complete cooperation. He’s hopeful someone is caught and faces the consequences.”
Officials suspect the case may contain “double brokering,” a sort of delivery rip-off by which a reputable service unknowingly subcontracts to an imposter posing as a verified transport firm.
The similar tactic was reportedly utilized in a separate heist final 12 months that value Guy Fieri and Sammy Hagar’s Santo Tequila model over $1 million in misplaced product.