Is there are way to install maven dependencies before maven attempts to resolve them?

I have to unpack some dependencies from a remote location and install them locally.

I successfully get them (using the antrun plugin) and install them (using the install plugin)

However, if I define them as dependencies (<dependency>..</dependency>) maven first tries to resolve them, and only then, if succeeds, proceeds to the antrun and install.

I also tried the build-helper-plugin and its attach-artifact, but it doesn't do anything (it doesn't even add the artifacts to the final war file)

So, how to run my executions before maven attempts to resolve dependencies?