A former army officer who was serving a heavy jail term for his involvement in a major Rohingya trafficking ring died on Wednesday in a prison hospital in Bangkok, the Corrections Department said today.

It said Lt Gen Manas Kongpan died of heart failure after being admitted to the hospital. It said Manas, 65, passed out while exercising at Klong Prem Central prison in ChatuchakDistrict.  Attempts to resuscitate him failed, it said.

Manas has been held at the maximum security prison since he was sentenced to a heavy jail term for his involvement in a major trafficking ring which was linked to the discovery of graves of many Rohingya illegal immigrants in 2015 in a border area in Sadao District of Songkhla. The Appeals Court in 2019 increased his jail term to 82 years.

Manas, a former army advisor, was among 103 people arrested and charged in connection with the case.