YouTuber who tried to give isolated tribe Diet Coke faces years of jail time
American YouTuber Mykhailo Polyakov was denied bail and faces years in prison after he attempted to contact an isolated tribe on North Sentinel Island using Diet Coke and a coconut.
In October 2024, Polyakov unsuccessfully tried to reachNorth Sentinel Island. The island is located between India and Thailand and is home to the famously uncontacted Sentinelese tribe.
After a few failed attempts, hefinally managed to make landfallon Saturday, July 06, 2025, bringing with him a can of Diet Coke and a coconut as offerings.
However, no one showed up to greet him. After blowing a whistle to get the tribe’s attention and standing on the beach for some time, he finally left… but it wasn’t long before police caught up with him.
The Sentineleseare a protected people, and India’s government even patrols the waters around North Sentinel Island to prevent potential intruders from possibly harming the tribe — or getting harmed, themselves.
In 2018, missionary John Allen Chau wasreportedly killed by the Sentineleseafter traveling to the island, and its residents are known forfiring arrows at camerasand film crews that get too close.
Polyakov wasdetained by law enforcementon Monday, March 31, and charged with “entering a prohibited tribal reserve area of the North Sentinel Island, protected under the Andaman & Nicobar Islands Protection of Aboriginal Tribes Regulation 1956,” as per official news reports.
YouTuber who tried to contact Sentinelese tribe denied bail
The YouTuberappeared in court on Tuesday, April 15, where he was denied bail and even had his time in police custody extended. He faces up to five years in prison along with a fine if found guilty.
Kick streamer arrested after shooting innocent bystander with paintball gun
Prosecutors want death penalty for YouTuber charged with killing rival & wife on stream
Keith Lee shocks owner of private boat charter business after “blowing up” company
“He planned meticulously over several days to visit the island and make contact with the tribe,” senior police officer Hargobinder Singh Dhaliwal said in a statement.
Police also said that Polyakov’s “actions posed a serious threat to the safety and wellbeing of the Sentinelese people, whose contact with outsiders is strictly prohibited by the law to protect their indigenous way of life.”
Polyakov isn’t the only influencer behind bars thanks to his behavior abroad. Infamous nuisance streamer Johnny Somali is currently awaiting trial in South Korea on multiplecharges that carry “mandatory” jail time, while Vitaly is also being held in prison afterharassing locals in the Philippines.
