Nearly three decades after the Pan Am Flight 103 passenger flight from London-Heathrow to John F. Kennedy Airport in New York exploded due to a bomb in the forward cargo area 38 minutes after takeoff Dec. 21, 1988, Abu Agila Mohammad Mas'ud Kheir al-Marimi is finally in custody.
The suspect is in custody after a joint investigation by the United States and Scotland into the terrorist attack on the plane over Lockerbie, Scotland, which carried 270 people from 21 countries including 190 Americans, according to a news release issued Dec. 12.
“Abu Agila Mohammad Mas'ud Kheir al-Marimi is finally in U.S. custody to face justice for his alleged role in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103. I want to thank @TheJusticeDept for its tireless work to pursue him. We will always remember the victims of this heinous act,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a post on Twitter.
The suspect worked for the External Security Organization, the Libyan intelligence service, which commonly committed or condoned acts of terrorism, according to the news release. He had been instructed to prepare the suitcase and later handed it off to an accomplice. If convicted, Mas'ud faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.
Evidence began mounting in 2017 when the U.S. acquired a copy of an interview where Mas'ud admitted to the allegations, according to AP News. U.S. officials have yet to say how Mas'ud came to be in U.S. custody. But late last month, the local Libyan media reported armed men had kidnapped Mas'ud Nov. 16 from his residence.
