Prague declares war on rogues in the taxi ranks

When Vaclav Havel was asked what the immediate effects of the collapse of communism were on the Czech republic, he said "Expensive hotels and cheap whores". The president might as well have added cheating cabbies to the list.

For more than a decade Prague's taxi drivers have been taking advantage of the lack of consumer protection laws and police indifference to overcharge their passengers, sometimes by as much as 2,000%.

The rogue drivers have a reputation for threatening or physically attacking those who challenge their fares.

Now in a bold attempt to clean up the corruption in eastern Europe's most visited capital - particularly as membership of the European Union looms - Prague city hall has begun a campaign to stop the deceitful drivers.

Students are being hired to impersonate tourists in an attempt to flush out the con artists - an estimated 60% of the 4,500 registered and 2,000 unregistered drivers.

Of more than 1,000 drivers inspected at random since the scheme began earlier this summer, almost 600 were found to be overcharging and reported to the police. They are liable to fines of up to 1m crowns (£21,000) and the removal of their licences.

The chief executive of the municipal authority, Zdenek Zajicek, described the operation as an "unofficial war on cheats".

Talk of war is no exaggeration. Mr Zajicek has received death threats for his stance and is under 24-hour police protection.

"In a strange way I take comfort from this," he said. "The fact they're reacting is proof that our methods are really working."

The inspectors too face physical threats. "One taxi driver drove across the leg of a policeman in his attempts to get away," said David Gladis, the public relations officer coordinating the scheme.

"Two inspectors were hijacked by their driver, who locked them in the car."

The struggle is an uphill one. The drivers defend their overcharging, saying that the 22 crown (50p) a kilometre charge laid down in law does not allow them to make a living.

Many are involved in mafia activities, doubling up as drug dealers. Poorly-paid police officers either take bribes or turn a blind eye.

The drivers are a powerful force in Prague. In the late nineties rival groups of drivers fought a fierce turf war to govern the city's most profitable taxi ranks. Several people were murdered.