A dangerous drug that kills tens of thousands of people in the U.S each year has reached our shores.

Twelve people have been hospitalised after taking a powdered form of fentanyl in Wairarapa over 48 hours, following the drug being sold as methamphetamine or cocaine.

Drug Detection Agency chief operating officer Glenn Dobson told Mike Hosking it's part of a much bigger picture involving organised crime.

He says the transnational criminal organisations have been getting more sophisticated over the years, and New Zealand is just another place in the market they're spreading into.

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