The guard, who used the pseudonym Rohan, was part of a contracted security team employed by AP Security. He said members of his team would allow “a couple of hundred” extra people into venues in exchange for cash, with some allegedly making as much as £1,000 in a night.
“Our company knew what was going on and they knew the people who were doing it, and they did nothing about it,” Rohan said. Reps for the O2 Academy Brixton’s parent company, Academy Music Group, as well as AP Security, did not immediately returnRohan said guards taking bribes to let people into various venues and events was a regular occurrence. “When you let a few people in, they would text their friends, and they’ll text their friends,” he said. “And the bouncers started being greedy, and it got out of hand. And people wanted to come in anyway, without a ticket.
Rohan did not specify whether he saw guards taking bribes to let people in the night of the Asake crowd crush, though he was working the front door that night. “It was like being in a car crash that’s been really awful — being crashed on and stamped on,” he said.