Kuala Lumpur - An Australian woman and a Nigerian man have been arrested in Malaysia after drugs were discovered in the car they were driving in the capital Kuala Lumpur, police said Saturday.

Police arrested the duo after stopping their car and finding one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of methamphetamine on July 17, federal narcotics chief Noor Rashid Ibrahim said.

The two were in custody and being investigated for drug trafficking. Noor Rashid did not immediately have further details.

Drug trafficking carries a mandatory death sentence by hanging in Malaysia, where hundreds of people are on death row, mostly for drug offences.

Anyone found to be in possession of at least 50 grams of methamphetamine is considered a trafficker.

In March, Australian Dominic Jude Christopher Bird, 32, was charged with drug trafficking.

The truck driver from Perth in Western Australia was arrested March 1 in Kuala Lumpur in possession of 225 grams of methamphetamine.