Police in Hubei Province recently revealed the case involving a suspect who resorted to car theft to cover the distance back to his hometown instead of purchasing a flight.

The suspect, surnamed Chen, is from Dalian City in Liaoning Province and was traveling alone in Changsha City, Hunan Province. The two locations are more than 2,000 km apart.

On May 31, Chen initially purchased a plane ticket home for 1,500 yuan (around $210) but later canceled it, saying it “was too expensive,” according to Chinese news site Their.

With a prior record of car theft, Chen decided to rely on his old methods.

At night, he broke into unlocked car dealerships, took keys from storage cabinets, and drove off in vehicles awaiting maintenance. He also targeted unattended parking lots, selecting older models that could be started by tampering with the ignition.

Chen began his journey on June 1, traveling through multiple cities including Changsha and Xiangtan in Hunan, Wuhan in Hubei, Zhumadian and Zhengzhou in Henan, and Xingtai and Shijiazhuang in Hebei.

He stole a total of eight cars, abandoning each one when it ran out of fuel. To cover meals and tolls, he also took valuables from the vehicles.

On June 2, a car dealership in Wuhan reported one of the stolen cars, valued at over 150,000 yuan. Police tracked the vehicle but found it had already left the city.

The following day, Chen was caught attempting to steal another vehicle in Hebei Province and injured the car owner while trying to flee.

On June 4, police found Chen asleep inside one of the stolen cars at a parking lot in Hebei and arrested him, as reported by the South China Morning Post.

The eight vehicles had a combined value of approximately one million yuan. Authorities confirmed all the cars have been recovered.

Chen is currently in custody. Under Chinese law, serious car theft offenses can carry prison sentences of more than 10 years along with substantial fines.