A 54-year-old former Hawai'i resident will likely spend the rest of his life in prison after he was found guilty of shipping about 10 pounds of methamphetamine from Las Vegas to Hawai'i for resale in 2008.

A federal jury Thursday found John J. Rodrigues guilty of conspiring to distribute and possess with the intent to distribute methamphetamine and distribution of methamphetamine.

A conviction on the charges carries a mandatory minimum prison term of 10 years to life. But because Rodrigues has two prior state felony drug convictions, he faces a mandatory prison term of life without the possibility of parole when he is sentenced by U.S. District Judge David Ezra on Jan. 11.

In 1984, Rodrigues was sentenced to 20 years in prison after he was found guilty in state Circuit Court of promoting a dangerous drug, heroin. In 2000, he was given a five-year term for promotion of methamphetamine and heroin.

Soon after his release from prison, Rodrigues was back in the illegal drug trade. He admitted in recorded phone conversations that he shipped "pound quantities" of methamphetamine to Hawai'i over a two-year period.

"He's been doing this since at least 2006," said Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Kawahara, who prosecuted the case.

At trial, prosecutors showed that Rodrigues purchased 10 pounds of methamphetamine last summer for $12,000 a pound, shipped it to Hawai'i and hoped to sell it for $30,000 a pound. But because the drug was of such poor quality, Rodrigues was having problems selling it, Kawahara said.

"They're used to that kind of stuff," Kawahara said of the drug quality in Las Vegas. "But when you bring it to Hawai'i and you're paying a premium price of $30,000 a pound, everybody expects better quality."

In October 2008, Rodrigues still had more than eight pounds of methamphetamine when he met with an undercover officer posing as a prospective buyer. Prosecutors said Rodrigues tried to sell the drug at cost and arranged for his sister, Carrie Hanson, to deliver three pounds of methamphetamine to the undercover officer.

Police arrested Hanson on Nov. 13 after she delivered the drug at a fast-food restaurant in Kailua. A third person, Dusteen Huffman, also was arrested after federal agents determined that she was in possession of Rodrigues' remaining 5.5 pounds of methamphetamine.

Rodrigues was also arrested on Nov. 13 in Las Vegas.

Hanson and Huffman have pleaded guilty to drug charges and are awaiting sentencing.

Kawahara praised the efforts of the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Secret Service for their work in the case.