![The hideout was located on a steep hillside.](https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/5d91c8e62400005e00d4f5e7.jpeg?ops=scalefit_720_noupscale)
The Yongshan Police
A fugitive in China who managed to avoid police for 17 years has been caught after his cave hide-out was spotted by a drone.
The 63-year-old was apprehended in his hideaway in the mountains behind his hometown in Yunnan province.
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Intelligence had led police to the area a year ago, but numerous searches had failed to find any trace of the man.
![Song Jiang was serving a prison sentence for human trafficking when he escaped and went on the run 17 years ago.](https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/5d91c90b220000cd04e01435.jpeg?ops=scalefit_720_noupscale)
The Yongshan Police
![The 63-year-old has been returned to prison.](https://img.huffingtonpost.com/asset/5d91c9312400003400d4f606.jpeg?ops=scalefit_720_noupscale)
The Yongshan Police
It wasn’t until a drone captured footage of blue sheeting and human rubbish around a cave that they were able to locate him.
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Chinese police identified him as Song Jiang and said he had been serving a sentence for human trafficking, but escaped from prison in 2002.
He has been returned to jail, the police said on its WeChat account.