How could that be entrapment. These guys were advertising on a public website to buy and sell bitcoins. Nothing illegal about that. However if these guys would have said, wait, if you want to buy $30K i have to take your name and dob and ss# and address and telephone and I have to file a Currency Transaction Report with FinCEN, then there would have been no problem.
Instead Law Enforcement threw in the fact that they were involved with illicit activity to show that these guys had no interest in obeying any existing law.
Pretty simple.
I'm not condoning or condemning the behavior. I'm just stating facts.
The problem is.... you dont know the facts idiot.
First it already states by the police that buying/selling bitcoin can be felt into "money transmission type transactions " between $300-$20000 within 12 months period
Second, you dont know how the undercover agent express his "attempt to use bitcoin for criminal act". He could have made it sound like a joke. I would personal think its a joke if some stranger dude said "yo i'm buying stolen goods with this shit man". If thats not entrapment then i dont know what is
If they lawyer up they will get out of this one, we don't have enough details, perhaps the guy referred the agent to a black market website.