US tourist arrested for leaving a can of Coke for untouched tribe on a remote island is a wannabe tr

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US tourist arrested for leaving a can of Coke for untouched tribe on a remote island is a wannabe travel influencer who spent time with the Taliban

Daily Mail
By NICK PISA
3 April 2025



The American tourist who put the world's most isolated tribe at risk when he allegedly made an illegal landing on the remote island and left behind a can of Diet Coke is a wannabe travel influencer who spent time with gun toting Taliban in Afghanistan.

Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov was held by police earlier this week after he made an unauthorized landing on the restricted North Sentinel Island, part of the India's Andaman and Nicobar chain.

MailOnline has been exclusively passed the official police report of his arrest which shows Polyakov, 24, had already landed on the island twice before – once last October and again In January.

He used the grey Gemini inflatable boat to reach the island last week and police later seized fuel, binoculars, his Go Pro, a life jacket and other items from his room at The Andaman Sunset View hotel.

Polyakov regularly posts his exploits on YouTube under the username Neo-Orientalist, a direct reference to the the concept of neo-Orientalism - how Western countries often portray the Islamic world in a stereotypical and negative way.

He 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.

(more)
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14567261/Pictured-US-tourist-arrested-sailing-remote-island.html

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The tribe is considered a particularly vulnerable group and reportedly hostile towards outsiders, having attacked almost everyone who has entered their territory.

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.'

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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.

[comment] This boy is in a lot of trouble. Three years in prison in India would kill most Western people.

[Smokin Joe]

of all things, Diet Coke?

That will persuade the Sentinalese to stay away from outsiders, all right.