RIO DE JANEIRO, Jan. 25 -- Five Chinese citizens were rescued in Rio de Janeiro from servitude during a campaign against illegal labor, a government press release said on Monday. [ The five were said to work without salaries to pay off an illegally created debt and justify their trip to Brazil, the press release said.

Three of them worked in a bakery in Copacabana, a popular district of Rio. The other two worked in an imported goods warehouse in Bonsucesso, in the north of the city, said the press release.

According to the Regional Office of Labor and Employment (SRTE), the rescue is part of a campaign launched in 2013 to fight illegal labor in the run-up to the 2016 Summer Olympic Games. The campaign so far has rescued around 20 Chinese citizens, many from work in bakeries.

According to the SRTE, the rescued people are from south China's Guangdong Province, where many specialized agencies seek laborers to send to Brazil.