Starting as a complaint from a tour boat operator Aug. 7, a local man was arrested and his sailboat seized in Moss Bay for allegedly trafficking “a small amount” of cocaine.

King County Marine Patrol and Kirkland Police responded to complaints of a 25-foot sailboat blocking passage to a sewage pumping station located near the Kirkland Marina Park and Anthony’s HomePort docks at around 2 p.m.

Marine patrol boarded the vessel and said they conducted a search, revealing the narcotics. A number of witnesses also confirmed hearing King County deputies state an arrest had been made for trafficking cocaine and watched Sheriffs’ deputies tow the boat away. It was reportedly anchored in Moss Bay for more than a week.

King County Sheriff’s spokesman Sgt. John Urquhart said the vessel had been impounded and the man was taken into custody.

“He was booked into the King County Jail on felony drug charges,” he said.

Tour boat operator Argosy Cruises, which operates the 110-foot MV Kirkland on tours of Lake Washington from the Second Avenue dock, complained that the sailboat was anchored in the right-of-way.

The owner of the sailboat, a 50-year-old Kirkland man, was reportedly using a row boat to access the shore and skirt moorage fees, said Kirkland Parks Department manager Michael Metteer. He was banned from using the dock for a year and given a five year warning.

“He’s been a regular customer with us over the summer,” he said. “He was constantly behind on the moorage.”

The suspect was given a conditional release from the county jail the following day and remains under investigation.