Indian police have announced the arrest of an American tourist who secretly entered a highly restricted area of North Sentinel, a part of India’s Andaman Islands, to bring coconuts and diet cola to a tribe untouched by the industrial world. According to The Guardian newspaper, 24-year-old Mykhailo Viktorovych Polyakov aimed to meet the Sentinel people, believed to number only around 150. To protect the indigenous population from potential diseases and maintain their way of life, all foreigners are prohibited from traveling within 5 kilometers of the island. HGS Dhaliwal, police chief of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, stated to AFP that the American citizen was presented in local court after the arrest and is currently being held for questioning for three days. Satellite images show that the island is surrounded by coral reefs stretching approximately 9.6 kilometers at its widest point, with dense forests and white sandy beaches.

The Sentinellese people made international headlines in 2018 after killing 27-year-old American missionary John Allen Chau, who illegally set foot on their shores. Chau’s body was never recovered, and due to India’s law prohibiting visits to the island, no investigation into his death was conducted. India views the vast Andaman and Nicobar Islands as strategically significant on key global shipping routes, as they are closer to Myanmar than the Indian mainland.