MAN ARRESTED FOR TRYING TO MAKE CONTACT WITH ISOLATED TRIBE

E! News

 

YouTuber Arrested After Trying to Make Contact With Isolated Tribe, Leaving Behind Diet Coke Can

By Hayley Santaflorentina Apr 08, 2025 9:53 AM| Updated Apr 08, 2025 1:47 PMTags

 

An American YouTuber is in legal trouble.

 

Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, a 24-year-old from Arizona, was arrested by Indian police on March 31 for visiting the restricted territory of North Sentinel Island in the Indian Ocean in an attempt to make contact with the Sentinelese tribe, police said, according to NBC News.

 

Polyakov used GPS navigation to bring him to the island which he surveyed with binoculars before landing, per police, who said while staying on the beach for about an hour, the content creator also blew a whistle to try and attract the tribe’s attention, though he got no response.

 

Before departing, he left a can of Diet Coke and a coconut on the sand as an offering, police noted. In addition, he recorded a video on his camera and collected samples.

 

Polyakov was arrested in Port Blair, the capital of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, after he was spotted by local fisherman who reported his actions to authorities. According to NBC News, a case was registered for violating Indian laws that prohibit outsiders from interacting with the islanders.

 

Police claim Polyakov had researched sea and tidal conditions before his journey, as well as accessibility to the island, with Senior Police Officer Hargobinder Singh Dhaliwal saying, “He planned meticulously over several days to visit the island and make a contact with the Sentinel tribe.”

 

Police said in an additional statement, per NBC News, that Polyakov’s “actions posed a serious threat to the safety and well-being of the Sentinelese people, whose contact with outsiders is strictly prohibited by the law to protect their indigenous way of life.”

 

An initial investigation discovered Polyakov allegedly attempted to visit the island twice previously, with police saying he was fascinated by the island and the Sentinelese people.

 

Polyakov was sentenced to 14 days of judicial custody by a local court and is scheduled to appear in court again on April 17, per NBC News,  and his charges reportedly carry a possible sentence of up to five years in prison and a fine.

 

Visitors are, according to NBC News, banned from traveling within 3 miles of North Sentinel Island as the inhabitants—whose population has been isolated for thousands of years—have been known to be suspicious of outsiders and have attacked people who land on their beaches.

 

Contact is limited to rare instances in which Indian officials engage in “gift-giving” encounters, according to NBC News, which often involves small groups leaving coconuts and bananas for the tribe. Indian ships monitor the waters around the island in an attempt to prevent outsiders from making contact.

 

Following Polyakov’s arrest, a U.S. State Department spokesperson shared in a statement, “The Department has no higher priority than the safety and security of U.S. citizens abroad. We are aware of reports of the detention of a U.S. citizen in India. We take our commitment to assist U.S. citizens abroad seriously and are monitoring the situation."

 

Meanwhile, director of Survival International Caroline Pearce, whose organization protects the rights of indigenous peoples, slammed Polyakov.

 

“This person’s actions not only endangered his own life, they put the lives of the entire Sentinelese tribe at risk,” she wrote, citing uncontacted peoples’ susceptibility to disease, on the organization’s website. “The Sentinelese have made their wish to avoid outsiders incredibly clear over the years.”

 

E! News has attempted to reach out to Polyakov for comment but has not yet heard back.