The structures of dichloro[2-[(5-methyl-1H-pyrazol-3-yl-kappaN(2))methyl]-1H-1,3-benzimidazole-kappaN(3)]copper(II), [CuCl(2)(C(12)H(12)N(4))], and di-mu-chloro-bis(chloro[2-[(5-methyl-1H-pyrazol-3-yl-kappaN(2))methyl]-1H-1,3-benzimidazole-kappaN(3)]cadmium(II)), [Cd(2)Cl(4)(C(12)H(12)N(4))(2)], show that these compounds have the structural formula [ML(Cl)(2)](n), where L is 2-[(5-methylpyrazolyl)methyl]benzimidazole. When M is copper, the complex is a monomer (n = 1), with a tetrahedral coordination for the Cu atom. When M is cadmium (n = 2), the complex lies about an inversion centre giving rise to a centrosymmetric dimer in which the Cd atoms are bridged by two chloride ions and are pentacoordinated.