Authorities in Georgia are searching for a custom $180,000 Range Rover built for NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal that went missing in late October after a transport handoff allegedly went wrong. Investigators believe the SUV was taken from a local fabrication business in Lumpkin County and moved to the Atlanta area, according to CBS News Atlanta, with multiple suspects now identified and search warrants obtained as the case widens.
The luxury SUV was scheduled to be transported to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for O’Neal, 53, to use during an LSU game appearance. It never arrived. Instead, the vehicle is believed to have passed through several hands before disappearing somewhere in the Atlanta area, sparking a multi-agency effort to track it down and determine how the transfer chain broke.
What Investigators Say Happened
The Lumpkin County Sheriff’s Office in northeast Georgia confirms the Range Rover was removed from a local business and likely brought to Atlanta between October 20 and October 22. While officials have not publicly named suspects, they say they have identified multiple persons of interest and are following active leads backed by search warrants, per CBS News Atlanta. The timeline suggests the theft occurred during a critical window in the vehicle’s journey to Louisiana.
Complicating the investigation is the number of companies reportedly involved in the SUV’s movement. The car had recently undergone customization work and was in the process of being transported when it vanished. Investigators are now piecing together the handoffs between shops and carriers to understand who last had custody and how the vehicle ultimately went off the grid.
Transport Handoff And Alleged Hack
Effortless Motors, a California-based customization shop that has worked extensively with O’Neal, arranged to ship the Range Rover via FirstLine Trucking LLC. Ahmad Abdelrahman, a spokesperson for Effortless Motors, told CBS News Atlanta that FirstLine reported a possible cyber breach during the pickup period.
“We do all his cars. This time, we set up transport, and transport claimed they were hacked and don’t know who picked up the vehicle,” Abdelrahman said. “It’s been missing since Monday.” He added that multiple shops were involved in the transfer and that the SUV appears to have changed hands before it went unaccounted for in Atlanta.
Abdelrahman said the trucking company reiterated its claim that a hack disrupted the chain of custody. “They claimed they were hacked and have no idea who picked up the car or where it’s at,” he said, noting, “There are a couple suspects in mind, and they’re doing their thing, but apparently they’re still investigating.” Law enforcement has not publicly confirmed the alleged hack but is investigating the transport chain as part of the broader case.
Reward, Cooperation, And What’s Unique About The SUV
Effortless Motors and O’Neal are working closely with authorities as the search continues. The company has put up a $10,000 reward for information that leads to the vehicle’s recovery, underscoring the unusual nature of the theft for a high-profile client vehicle with multiple recent custom upgrades.
According to Abdelrahman, the shop has never faced a theft like this in its operations. “We take the security and trust of our clients very seriously,” he said. “This was a highly coordinated criminal act targeting the transport company’s network. Police are saying this may be a part of a big operation ring that’s been happening … We’re waiting for some updates.” The comments highlight growing concerns about organized schemes targeting high-value vehicles during transit.
The missing Range Rover isn’t a standard factory build. Over the years, it has received extensive work, including a fully redone interior and extended seating tailored to O’Neal’s 7’1″ frame. Those bespoke touches make the SUV easily identifiable and difficult to resell through traditional channels — an asset for investigators, but also a challenge if the vehicle has been moved quickly or altered following the theft.
O’Neal, an NBA Hall of Famer and long-running television analyst, has been a loyal Effortless Motors client since 2023. In that span, the shop has customized several of his standout rides, including a Corvette Z06, a Ram TRX 1500 Apocalypse, a 2025 Chevy 2500 ZR2, and an Escalade IQ. The Range Rover’s disappearance interrupts a steady stream of high-end collaborations between the star and the boutique builder.
While the investigation remains active, the case underscores the vulnerabilities that can emerge when multiple vendors and carriers handle a single high-value vehicle across state lines. With several parties touching the SUV before it vanished — and with a reported cyber incident muddying the documentation — law enforcement is working to reconstruct the transport chain, verify custody records, and identify where the breakdown occurred.
For now, the focus is on recovering the SUV and determining whether the theft is linked to a broader criminal network targeting luxury cars during shipment. Authorities urge anyone with knowledge of the vehicle’s whereabouts or the transport chain’s final handoff to come forward as the search intensifies in and around Atlanta.
