An arrest has been made in connection with the theft of a custom Range Rover belonging to NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal, but the high-end SUV is still missing and may have been shipped overseas.

Lumpkin County Sheriff Stacy Jarrard confirmed Tuesday that investigators traced the suspect to New York, where he was taken into custody by the Mount Vernon Police Department. The suspect, a 33-year-old man, is currently being held there.

Mount Vernon Police Deputy Chief Gregory Addison told CBS News Atlanta that the suspect was arrested around 8 p.m. on Dec. 5. Addison said officers received a license plate reader alert for a vehicle that might contain a wanted party with a warrant out of Lumpkin County, Georgia. The alert was for a specific South Carolina license plate. Officers located the vehicle within the city and watched as the driver walked into a local business. They followed the driver inside, detained him, and verified that he was the party wanted in Georgia.

Anthony Del Rosario was placed under arrest for the extraditable warrant and is currently being held at the Westchester County, New York Jail as a "Fugitive From Justice," the New York State designation for someone wanted in another state. The vehicle he was driving was impounded because it was not registered; authorities confirmed it was not O'Neal's Range Rover.

Sheriff Jarrard said if Del Rosario waives extradition, he will be transported to the Lumpkin County Detention Center. Otherwise, a hearing will be held in New York, where a judge could order his return to Georgia. The sheriff also said he expects more arrests in the case. 

The stolen vehicle has not been recovered and is believed to be somewhere in the Middle East.

The arrest comes after weeks of investigation into the disappearance of O'Neal's custom 2025 Range Rover, which was taken from a business in the Dahlonega area on Oct. 20. The SUV, valued at roughly $180,000, was supposed to be transported to Louisiana for O'Neal to use at an LSU game that weekend but never arrived.

Ahmad Abdelrahman, a spokesperson for Effortless Motors, the California company that customized the SUV, told CBS News Atlanta the vehicle was removed from the shop under false pretenses. He said the company arranged transport through FirstLine Trucking LLC, which later claimed its system had been hacked.

Abdelrahman said the arrest is a major breakthrough in what appears to be a large, coordinated criminal operation. 

"I've been working with a detective throughout the whole time. They just arrested one of the main ringleaders in this whole operation. It's a big sting. They're taking, like, 40 cars a week," Abdelrahman said. "They found the two main guys, arrested one of them, and the other guy is overseas."

He added that O'Neal is aware of the arrest and is relieved that authorities have made progress. 

Investigators say the vehicle passed through several hands before disappearing in the Atlanta area. Multiple shops were involved in the transport process, and deputies have looked into how the SUV was handed off and who may have received it.

The Lumpkin County Sheriff's Office confirmed it has issued several search warrants with help from telecommunications and vehicle telematics companies. Detectives are still working to track both the vehicle and the other suspects involved.

The custom Range Rover features an entirely redesigned interior with extended seating built to accommodate O'Neal's 7-foot-1 frame. The company has customized several of his other high-end vehicles since 2023.