A British Army commando has been jailed after selling strong painkillers used for cancer treatment on Snapchat. Lance Bombardier Ellis Mallett became ‘addicted’ to class A opioid Oxycodone after an ex-girlfriend first gave them to him four years ago to help cope with a foot injury, a court martial heard. But the 31 year old had continued to ‘self-medicate’ with the drug in order to cope with service life. Lance Bombardier Ellis Mallett (pictured), 31, was sentenced to 18 months in a military corrective training centre, in Essex, after selling strong painkillers used for cancer treatment on Snapchat Mallett became 'addicted' to class A opioid Oxycodone after an ex-girlfriend gave it to him to help him cope with a foot injury, a court martial heard. The 31-year-old continued to 'self-medicate' with the drug in order to cope with service life A Snapchat message offering the drugs for £50 was seen by a corporal who reported it to superiors, with a small amount of cocaine also being found later in his car. He was also caught selling a licensed drug for treating erectile dysfunction. Lance Bombardier Mallett, of the 29th Commando Regiment Royal Artillery based in Plymouth, Devon, pleaded guilty to three charges: possessing cocaine, offering to supply a controlled class a drug and offering to supply a pharmacy only drug without a licence. He was sentenced to 18 months in a military corrective training centre in Colchester, Essex, and dismissed from the military. Mallett, of the 29th Commando Regiment Royal Artillery based in Plymouth, Devon, pleaded guilty to three charges: possessing cocaine, offering to supply a controlled class a drug and offering to supply a pharmacy only drug without a licence A photo of 'tablets' sent by Mallett to a select group of people on Snapchat was captioned 'Oxy 56 for £50'. Matthew Poulson, prosecuting, said the message was passed up the chain of command, leading to an investigation Bulford Military Court, Wiltshire, heard that on September 11 last year Lance Bombardier Mallett sent a photo of ‘tablets’ to a select group of people on Snapchat, alongside a message that read: ‘Oxy 56 for £50’. Lieutenant Matthew Poulson, prosecuting, said: 'This message was passed up the chain of command, leading to an investigation. 'Later on Royal Marines police carried out a search of his Vauxhall Zafira and found a small amount of cocaine.' Another Snapchat message advertised the pharmaceutical drug Sildenafil Citrate - a medication used for erectile dysfunction, similar to Viagra. Mallett's defence barrister told the court he had served in the army for more than six years and had a 'promising military career' ahead of him. He said Mallett's behaviour became 'extremely erratic' in September last year, around the time the Snapchat message was sent Defence barrister Adam Antoszkiw told the court Lance Bombardier Mallett, who had served in the army for more than six and a half years, had a ‘promising military career’ ahead of him but suffered an injury in 2017. He said: 'He came across this drug [Oxycodone] because of an injury he sustained in August 2017. 'He got them from his ex-girlfriend at the time, whose father was using them for his cancer treatment. 'To try to carry on with service life he has self-medicated on this drug. He has pushed against the term ‘addicted’ but does accept he has become reliant on this drug to carry out his functions. 'To me, that is an addiction. “In September last year [Lance Bombardier Mallett] was in a dark place in relation to his mental health. 'His behaviour became extremely erratic. 'Since then he has been engaging with mental health services. There has been a cessation of illicit painkillers. He has undertaken an operation for this long-standing foot injury and there will be more.' Bulford Military Court, Wiltshire (pictured), heard Lance Bombardier Ellis Mallett became addicted to class A opioid Oxycodone after an ex-girlfriend first gave them to him four years ago to help cope with a foot injury Sentencing the disgraced soldier, who is unmarried and single, Judge Robert Hill said: 'We have taken the position that your role was one of a one-man business. 'The prosecution have not been able to tell us very much about the nature and extent of the operation. '[The message] refers to number 56, but we don’t know what number 56 refers to. 'You say you have become addicted to it and there is no reason to dispute this. You were in a dark place at the time. 'We don’t think it’s appropriate to suspend this sentence.' All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility