A 63-year-old man who had been on the run for 17 years after pulling off a daring prison break was finally captured by Chinese police, who tracked the fugitive to a cave using drones.

Song Jiang was apprehended at his mountainous hideout on September 19 by Yongshan police in Yunnan province, south-west China, after authorities used unmanned aerial vehicles to search the area.

Jiang was imprisoned for trafficking women and children, but escaped from prison in 2002. Police said they started to zero in on his whereabouts in early September this year after receiving a crucial tip-off.

Following a number of failed missions by personnel on the ground, drones were deployed and, after a five-hour-long aerial search, eventually revealed his hiding place.

After spotting the small cave littered with rubbish on the side of a steep cliff, officers moved in on foot to take Jiang back into custody. Police said the fugitive had been living in complete seclusion for so long that he found it difficult to communicate with officers.

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