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A drug smuggler convicted for the third-largest intercepted haul of meth in Korea's history has died.

According to the Busan Detention Center on Friday, the man in his 60s died at a hospital on June 12. This comes after fellow inmates found him in a critical condition on May 31.

Prison officials did not elaborate on what caused him to that condition.

But just a day earlier, the Supreme Court upheld a 30-year sentence for him for smuggling 50kg of meth into Busan from Thailand in December 2022 among other charges. The amount of the synthetic stimulant seized was estimated to have a street value of more than 165 billion won ($120 million).

According to the Busan Ilbo, a local daily that first reported the incident, he had been taking medication for depression for a while. He had reportedly hoped for a more lenient sentence from the judiciary in return for cooperation with investigations targeting his accomplices.