Former Tijuana mayor faces charges

TIJUANA, Mexico -- Former Tijuana mayor Jorge Hank Rhon, one of Mexico's most flamboyant businessmen and politicians, has been detained on suspicion of illegal weapons possession, the federal Attorney General's Office announced Saturday.

Mexican troops raided the gambling impresario's house and found 88 guns, officials said. The attorney general's office said Hank Rhon and 10 other people were detained.

Mexican law limits ownership of large firearms to the military and requires licensing of most other guns. Violations can be punished by as long as 15 years in prison in some cases.

Hank Rhon's spokesman, Francisco Ramirez, declined to comment on the case. Hank Rhon's lawyer, Adela Ruvalcaba, said she was seeking a court order to prevent him being held without charges. She said Hank Rhon's wife, Elvia de Hank, was hospitalized after the army raid.

Hank Rhon was mayor of Tijuana from 2004 to 2007 but lost in a run for Baja California state governor that year.