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Man Pleads Guilty To Drug Charge In 'Dirty Bomb' Case

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By ELAINE SILVESTRINI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 20, 2009

TAMPA - A British national who started out trying to sell a radioactive isotope from Russia pleaded guilty today to a federal drug charge.

Christopher Benbow, 64, was sentenced in 2007 to life in prison but had his drug conviction overturned by a federal appeals court. He was scheduled to go on trial again next week.

The case "began like something out of a James Bond novel" and "morphed into an international drug conspiracy sting," said the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

In December 2003, Benbow, who was living in Estonia, approached a friend in Miami he thought had ties to the U.S. government, according to evidence in Benbow's first trial and his plea agreement.

Benbow said he knew some Russians who were trying to sell three canisters of strontium 90, which can be used to make a "dirty bomb," court records show.

What followed included a meeting in Tampa in which Benbow asked for $250 million for each canister, saying he wanted to get the substance off the world market and make a profit in the process.

Benbow didn't know it, but the men he met with were government informants. They negotiated a deal to buy the isotope paying with drugs instead of money.

Benbow pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute more than 5 kilograms of cocaine, which carries a minimum of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life.

A sentencing date was not set.

Reporter Elaine Silvestrini can be reached at (813) 259-7837 or esilvestrini@tampatrib.com.

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