Mexico agents detain border police chief

Mexico's military performed checks on all city police weapons in the border town of Reynosa on Friday after federal officials detained the police chief for questioning about possible links to drug traffickers.

Reynosa Police Chief Juan Jose Muniz Salinas was whisked off to Mexico City by federal authorities late Thursday for questioning on "evidence that links him to organized crime and fomenting drug trafficking," the federal attorney general's office said in a statement.

City officials said soldiers were conducting a routine check of city police weapons in Reynosa, which is near the Texas city of McAllen. Such inspections have been carried out in the past to determine if any of the weapons are unregistered or linked to crimes.

But Miguel Angel Garcia Ahedo, the city council secretary, said in a news release that the detention had not affected city operations.

"The city is calm, and we are operating normally with police patrols in all parts of the city, in coordination state and federal authorities," he said.

Federal prosecutors have less than four days to either charge Muniz Salinas, release him or ask a judge to place him under house arrest without formal charges.

Last month, soldiers arrested nine police officers from Ciudad Juarez, across the U.S. border from El Paso, Texas, for allegedly carrying drugs in their patrol cars.

The Gulf cartel is based in Tamaulipas state, where Reynosa is located.