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On December 21, 1988, Pan Am Flight 103’s journey from London Heathrow to JFK airport in New York was tragically cut short after a bomb caused the plane to crash over the Scottish town of Lockerbie, Dumfriesshire.

All 259 people on board were killed in the crash, as well as 11 people on the ground.

Fingers quickly pointed to terror groups linked to Syria, Iran and Lybia, but it was airline official and Lybian Abdelbaset Ali Al-Megrahi who was eventually found guilty of 270 counts of murder and given a life sentence.

But allegations about the evidence used in court have led family members of Lockerbie victims to question whether the Lybian – who was an alleged intelligence officer for dictator Colonel Gadaffi – was actually involved in the atrocity.

A 2001 book published by Guardian writers John Ashton and Ian Ferguson – named Cover-up of Convenience – The Hidden Scandal of Lockerbie – claimed a T-shirt was found in Kielder forest, Northumberland, bearing the insignia of Hezbollah.

The book also suggested two cases containing heroin were found – one on Lockerbie golf course and another on a farm a few miles east – which may have suggested another theory of events.

And today, 30 years after the disaster, a conspiracy has resurfaced of the CIA's alleged involvement in the bombing.

In an attempt to set the record straight on Lockerbie, Susan Lindauer claimed the disaster was down to a CIA-run “heroin trafficking” operation discovered between Lebanon and the US.

(Image: GETTY)

Susan – who said she once worked for the CIA and DIA in her book Extreme Prejudice – explained in a talk in Seattle in 2011: “The Defence Intelligence Agency had gone into Lebanon and were gathering forensic evidence to prove the CIA’s role in heroin trafficking.

“They boarded Pan Am flight 103 that morning and they were flying back to Washington to deliver their report, with heroin, cash and banking records.

“They were going to expose the whole lot and that’s when the plane was bombed.”

She suggests the drug trafficking was allowed by the US government in return for the CIA gaining information on the whereabouts of American hostages.

(Image: GETTY)

(Image: GETTY/YOUTUBE/KRISTOFFFO)

Cover-up of Convenience and a separate Time Magazine report go one step further by naming the team of intelligence officials who allegedly uncovered the conspiracy.

Both reports state the team was led by the DIA's Major Charles McKee – who was onboard the Pan Am flight to expose it to Washington when it was bombed.

In her 2011 speech, Susan added further fuel to the fire when she suggested the US state department warned other embassies in advance that the Boeing 747 could be bombed – but did not mention it to the DIA.

During her testimony, Susan claimed the state department released an “emergency broadcast report” in order to prevent government officials from stepping onto the plane, stating the Pan Am flight was “expected to be targeted in a terrorist attack”.

(Image: YOUTUBE/KRISTOFFFO)

From this, she maintained diplomats and national leaders, including acting South African President Botha, got off the plane.

Ahead of today's anniversary, another allegation emerged in Channel 5’s documentary Lockerbie: The Unheard Voices.

It suggested a “warning letter” was sent to the US Federal Aviation Administration before the ill-fated flight, but was ultimately deemed a “hoax”.