A teenage girl's escape attempt at the Tawau Airport with 3.16kg of drugs worth RM450,000 was foiled yesterday morning.

Tawau police chief, ACP Fadil Marsus said the 19-year-old teenager, a Malaysian national, was arrested at 11.15am, by a squad of policemen from the district's narcotics division, at the arrival hall, as soon as she arrived from Kuala Lumpur.

Speaking to reporters here today, Fadil said during the raid the police seized six tins allegedly containing syabu that were packed in plastic bags, labelled 36 per cent each, hidden in her black bag.

He added they also found 23 packs of snacks from various brands and a children's play set.