An American ‘danger tourist’ who risked wiping out an entire uncontacted tribe faces up to five years in jail for sneaking onto a forbidden island and leaving behind ‘offerings’ for its inhabitants, it has emerged.
Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, 24, illegally set foot on the restricted territory of North Sentinel – part of India‘s Andaman Islands – carrying a coconut and a can of Diet Coke on Saturday morning, in a bid to meet the Sentinelese tribe.
Polyakov, of Arizona, was arrested late Monday, about two days after he went ashore, was presented before the local court and is now on a three-day remand for further interrogation.
Police seized a GoPro camera from the wannabe travel influencer, who recorded the moment he approached the highly restricted island.
‘That is it. The last uncontacted tribe. The last mystery. If they see me, will they attack? Or will they accept me?’ he said in the recording, The Telegraph reports.
Polyakov faces ‘three to five years in prison for breaching the law prohibits unauthorized entry into the areas inhabited by protected tribes of North Sentinel Island’ if he is found guilty, the director general of Andaman and Nicobar police said.
Indian authorities have prosecuted any locals who have aided attempts to enter the island and are trying to identify anyone who may have helped Polyakov.
The exact purpose of his journey remains under investigation, but according to The Times of India, Polyakov told police during his interrogation that he is a ‘thrill seeker’.
Polyakov – who last year spent time with gun toting Taliban in Afghanistan – regularly posts his exploits on YouTube under the username Neo-Orientalist, a direct reference to the concept of how Western countries often portray the Islamic world in a stereotypical and negative way.
Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov, pictured in his arrest photo, faces up to five years in jail for sneaking onto the forbidden territory of North Sentinel, part of India’s Andaman Islands
Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov (pictured in Afghanistan last year) is a travel influencer who spent time with gun toting Taliban in Afghanistan
Polyakov was arrested in India’s Andaman and Nicobar Islands after he allegedly made an illegal and unauthorized landing at the tribal reserve on North Sentinel Island, which is inhabited by the ‘particularly vulnerable’ Sentinelese tribe (pictured in this file photo)
Polyakov arrived in Port Blair, the capital city of Andaman and Nicobar Islands, on March 26, according to the official police report detailing Polyakov’s arrest.
He ‘ventured into the sea without informing authorities’ on March 28 and returned the next day ‘without a clear explanation’, police allege.
‘A review of his Go Pro footage suggested possible entry into the restricted North Sentinel Island,’ the report stated. ‘His recordings showed him claiming unofficial representation of the US and landing on North Sentinel Island.’
Police say he used a grey Gemini inflatable boat to sail across a 25-mile straight from Kurma Dera Beach to North Sentinel Island on March 29.
He set sail for restricted territory around 1am, ‘carrying a coconut and a Diet Coke as offerings for the Sentinelese.’ He reached the northeastern shore of North Sentinel Island around 10am, according to the report.
Polyakov surveyed the area with binoculars and kept blowing a whistle off the shore for about an hour to attract the tribe’s attention before he went ashore.
‘He landed briefly for about five minutes, left the offerings on the shore, collected sand samples, and recorded a video before returning to his boat,’ Dhaliwal said.
‘A review of his GoPro camera footage showed his entry and landing into the restricted North Sentinel Island.’
‘At 1pm he started his return journey and reached Kurma Dera Beach by 7pm, where he was spotted by local fisherman.’
He was arrested and police later seized fuel, binoculars, his Go Pro, a life jacket and other items from his room at The Andaman Sunset View hotel.
Police say Polyakov had visited the region twice in October last year with plans to sail to North Sentinel Island using an ‘inflatable kayak’, but was stopped by hotel staff.
He visited again in January this year, where he visited the Baratang Islands and ‘illegally videographed the Jarawa tribe’.
Polyakov sailed across a 25-mile straight from Kurma Dera Beach to North Sentinel Island on this inflatable boat, which has been seized by police
The official police report detailing his arrest which shows Polyakov, 24, (pictured) had already landed on the island twice before – once last October and again In January
Polyakov seemingly teased his visit to North Sentinel Island five months ago when he posted a cartoon image of a Tintin style adventurer, accompanied with a small brown dog, sailing a small boat towards a desert island.
He captioned it: ‘A little Columbus day teaser for the fans.’
Commentators were quick to point out the resemblance between the post and his current situation following his arrest for visiting the prohibited reserve, which is inhabited by the reclusive and ‘particularly vulnerable’ Sentinelese tribe.
One comment branded the image as ‘disturbing’, while another read: ‘This shows premediated evidence for the crime you just got arrested for. Top tier brain activity.’
Polyakov, whose YouTube channel has just under 400 subscribers, posted a series of six 30 minute videos on the platform last September detailing his visit to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
The footage charted his three week stay as he filmed himself walking through the streets ‘enjoying tea with locals’, explored Soviet-era tanks, and interacted with the Taliban.
One clip shows the moment the Taliban hands him an assault-style weapon and draped an ammunition belt across his neck. Polyakov can be heard saying ‘yes,’ as he holds the weapon up, before unleashing a shot in another clip.
He wrote: ‘In this series, I take a three-week road trip across what has become the unrecognized Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan following the chaotic US withdrawal in 2021 and the rapid takeover of the country by the Taliban.
‘Recognized as a terrorist group by many countries, the Taliban maintain a strict theocratic regime in which music, dancing, women’s education, being clean shaven, using birth control, and even the depiction of faces are forbidden.’
He closes by telling his subscribers: ‘Join me as I navigate one of the most dangerous and unquestionably the most conservative country in the world. Don’t forget to like, comment and subscribe for more!’
Polyakov – whose YouTube channel has just under 400 subscribers – visited Afghanistan last year, detailing his journey in a series of videos titled ‘Taliban-Controlled Afghanistan Through American Eyes’. He is pictured enjoying an ice cream cone in Afghanistan
Polyakov, 24, (pictured) creates YouTube videos under the username Neo-Orientalist. He seemingly teased his visit to North Sentinel Island in a post five months when he posted a cartoon image of a Tintin style adventurer, accompanied with a small brown dog, sailing a small boat towards a desert island. He captioned it: ‘A little Columbus day teaser for the fans’
In another clip he is also seen having a haircut in a barber for $2 and he comes out telling viewers: ‘Just got a fresh cut. Looking extra crispy today.
‘Great thing it cost only $2 and unlike in America where they flip a tablet and demand 30 per cent above the price which is always great,’ before adding how he was also given a coat of lipstick as well.
Other videos showing him walking through an abandoned US military base as he explores a sand bugged bunker with bullet holes and shrapnel damage. He asks ‘how much did we leave behind?’ as he films destroyed military vehicles.
Seemingly oblivious to the danger he has exposed himself to, he also posted a clip called Road Rage Afghan Edition in which he said a ‘traffic dispute ends in gunfire.’
All outsiders, Indians and foreigners alike, are banned from travelling within three miles of North Sentinel Island to protect the Sentinelese people – who are believed to number only around 150 – from outside diseases and to preserve their way of life.
The tribe is considered a particularly vulnerable group and reportedly hostile towards outsiders, having attacked almost everyone who has entered their territory.
Police say Polyakov’s journey to the prohibited territory was meticulously planned, alleging that the tourist had studied sea conditions, tides and access points before making he set sail.
Investigators are also trying to identify where else Polyakov visited during his stay in the region and are ‘questioning the hotel staff where he was staying in Port Blair’.
‘We are getting more details about him and his intention to visit the reserved tribal area,’ the region’s director general of police told The Press Trust of India.
The US Embassy, the Ministry of External Affairs and the Home Department have been notified of his arrest.
Polyakov landed on the island for roughly five minutes, collected sand samples, recorded a video on his GoPro, and left behind a can of soda and a coconut as ‘offerings for the Sentinelese’ tribe (pictured in a file photo above)
Police say Mykhailo Polyakov’s (pictured) journey to the prohibited North Sentinel Island was meticulously planned, alleging that the tourist had studied sea conditions, tides and access points before making he set sail
Caroline Pearce, the director of indigenous rights group Survival International, branded Polyakov’s attempt to visit the island as ‘reckless and idiotic’.
‘This person’s actions not only endangered his own life, they put the lives of the entire Sentinelese tribe at risk,’ she said in a statement provided to MailOnline.
‘It’s very well known by now that uncontacted peoples have no immunity to common outside diseases like flu or measles, which could completely wipe them out.’
Pearce added that the ‘Sentinelese have made their wish to avoid outsiders incredibly clear over the years’, citing how American missionary John Chau was murdered by the tribe in November 2018.
Chau, 26, was killed in a hail of arrows as he went ashore on North Sentinel Island. He had been persistently trying to reach out to the Sentinelese in a bid to talk to them about Jesus – a move which his friend said ‘he knew that he had no business doing.’
The tribe then tied a rope around his neck and dragging his body away, according to the fishermen who helped him get there.
Chau’s body was not recovered and there were no investigations over his death because of the Indian law prohibiting anyone from going to the island.
Polyakov arrived at the shores of North Sentinel Island (pictured in file photo) around 10am on March 29 and – using binoculars – began surveying the area for signs life. He spent roughly an hour blowing a whistle from his inflatable boat in hopes of drawing attention to himself, but received no response
Chau began his missionary training at the All Nations International headquarters in Kansas City in October 2017 before setting out into the world.
The group subscribes to the belief that spreading the word of God to ‘all nations’ will cause the second coming of Jesus and works to speedily meet that goal.
The missionary previously visited the Andaman Islands, which includes North Sentinel Island, in 2015 and 2016. His goal was to return to build a long-term relationship with the tribespeople in the area, and if possible, to be accepted to live amongst them.
He organized his 2018 visit to the island through a friend who hired seven fishermen for $325 to take him there on a boat which also towed his kayak. His first attempt at reaching out was on November 15.
Chau paddled toward the shore in his kayak and sent the boat with the fishermen back out to sea in a bid to avoid detection.
But he was undeterred and just a few hours later returned – this time attempting to walk to the beach to deliver gifts such as a football and fish to the tribespeople.
He was once again met with hostility and was chased back into the surf before he frantically swam toward the fishermen who had been waiting for him.
However, he still remained undeterred by the group’s anger and returned twice more. He was again met with hostility and the final attempt would prove to be fatal.
American missionary John Chau, 26, (pictured) was killed in a hail of arrows as he went ashore on North Sentinel Island in November 2018. He had been persistently trying to reach out to the Sentinelese in a bid to talk to them about Jesus – a move which his friend said ‘he knew that he had no business doing
Speaking again of Polyakov’s arrest, Pearce said: ‘It’s good news that the man in this latest incident has been arrested, but deeply disturbing that he was reportedly able to get onto the island in the first place.’
‘The Indian authorities have a legal responsibility to ensure that the Sentinelese are safe from missionaries, social media influencers, people fishing illegally in their waters and anyone else who may try to make contact with them.’
MailOnline has approached police and the US Embassy in India for comment.
The Sentinelese, who are considered to be the world’s last pre-Neolithic tribe, have a history of hostility towards outsiders. Because of their rejection of the outside world, little is known about them – including what they call themselves.
What is known has been gleaned from viewing them from boats moored far enough away from the tribesmen, who carry spears, bows and arrows, or from the few times the tribe allowed authorities to come close enough to hand over coconuts.
The Sentinelese attracted international attention in the wake of the 2004 Asian tsunami, when a member of the tribe was photographed on a beach, firing arrows at a helicopter that was checking on their welfare.
North Sentinel Island is out of bounds even to the Indian navy in a bid to protect its reclusive inhabitants who number only about 150.
Campaigns by non-profit and local organizations have led the Indian government to abandon plans to contact the Sentinelese.
The Sentinelese attracted international attention in the wake of the 2004 Asian tsunami, when a member of the tribe was photographed on a beach, firing arrows at a helicopter that was checking on their welfare
This rare picture, shot from a helicopter by Indian Coast Guard, shows Sentinelese tribesmen walking on the boat belonging to two fishermen who were killed in January 2006 when they strayed onto North Sentinel Island on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands
It is illegal to have any contact with the tribe and the Indian government said even taking photographs or making videos of aboriginal Andaman tribes would be punishable with imprisonment of up to three years.
Survival International, which works to ensure that no further attempts are made to contact the tribe, says the Sentinelese have thrived on the small forested island – which is approximately the size of Manhattan – for up to 55,000 years.
The women wear fiber strings tied around their waists, necks and heads. The men also wear necklaces and headbands, but with a thicker waist belt.
From a distance, they appear healthy and thriving and observers have noted many children and pregnant women at times.
According to Survival, the Sentinelese hunt and gather in the forest, and fish in the coastal waters by make narrow outrigger canoes, which can only be used in shallow waters as they are steered and propelled with a pole like a punt.
