When the steamer carrying the gold arrived in Boulogne, one of the crew saw that the bullion boxes were damaged, but thought that as staff at Folkestone had not mentioned it, then there seemed no reason for them to worry. The boxes were weighed on arrival at Boulogne where the box from Abell was found to be lighter than it had been in London, whereas the other boxes both weighed more. They were transported to Paris, where they were weighed again, with the same results as at Boulogne. When they were opened the lead shot was found and the news relayed back to London.