Mexican military detains former Tijuana mayor Jorge Hank Rhon

Soldiers detain 11 suspects and seize 88 weapons in early morning raid

By Sandra Dibble
Originally published 9:38 a.m., June 4, 2011, updated 1:52 p.m., June 4, 2011

TIJUANA — Mexican soldiers this morning detained former mayor Jorge Hank Rhon and ten others on firearms charges. The operation on the compound of the city’s Agua Caliente racetrack, where Hank lives with his family, led to the seizure of 88 weapons, nearly 10,000 rounds of ammunition, 70 chargers and one gas grenade, according to a military communique.

The 55-year-old gambling tycoon is one of Mexico’s wealthiest businessmen and a powerfully connected member of Mexico’s once-ruling Institutional Revolutionary Party, the PRI. Hank has long been a controversial figure on both sides of the border, and has drawn much attention for his flamboyant lifestyle and allegations of criminal ties, though he has never been convicted.

Unofficial sources reported the arrest early today, but it wasn’t until the afternon that the military and the federal Attorney General’s Office confirmed the detention in a one-page statement from Mexico City.

It said that the operation started with a citizens complaint that three men were spotted with weapons at local hotel. The suspects told authorities that weapons were hidden inside a residence in the city’s Colonia Hipódromo.

Arriving at the Caliente compound, the soldiers found armed individuals and saw them enter the residence, the statement said. There, the soldiers then proceeded to arrest eight male suspects, including Hank, the statement said.

A spokesman for Hank’s Grupo Caliente, Francisco RamÃ*rez, said the detention occurred at about 3 a.m. on the Caliente compound that includes Hank’s residence, his private zoo, and the Caliente soccer stadium, home to the city’s popular Xoloitzcuintles soccer team, which Hank owns. RamÃ*rez his understanding that the others taken into custody were security personnel.

Hank’s arrest comes as Mexico prepares for presidential elections in 2012, with polls currently putting the PRI in the lead. Humberto Moreira, the party’s national president, praised Hank as an “extraordinary mayor,â€