With the exception of "cotton gin," the word "gin" is virtually never used in modern english to mean "trap." If you still want to use it for it's classic flavor, use it like a synonym: "He set up gins and traps in our way." But if you want to make a metaphor, use something more abstract: "He fashioned the obstacle of traps in our way." ...but with this wording, I would reverse it: "The traps in our way were obstacles of his design."